Europe and the race to structural transformation: a narrow path ahead

Abstract Since the Global Financial Crisis, the European Union (EU) has gone from crisis to crisis. The chronic growth and productivity problems have been compounded by the poor management of the Eurozone crisis, by the no-longer postponable green and digital transitions, and by the changing geopolitical environment, with the end of the old multilateral order. The European institutions still embed the principles of an old consensus based on market efficiency, and do not allow for macroeconomic and industrial policies for the structural transformation. We discuss possible reforms to realign the EU institutions with the needs and the challenges the bloc faces.