Von der Leyen recognized the EU's lagging behind the US and China in economic growth rates

The European Union (EU) is lagging behind the United States and China in terms of economic growth. This was stated by the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen on January 29.

According to her, the EU business model in the last 20-25 years relied on cheap labor from China and cheap energy from Russia. Those days are in the past, she said.

"And we see that today Europe continues to lag behind the US and China in terms of productivity growth. We must correct our shortcomings to regain our competitiveness," she said.

On the day, the EC chief unveiled a five-year plan to boost EU competitiveness. "The plan includes three pillars: closing the innovation gap, decarbonization and security," the EC said in a press release on its website.

The EC will focus on innovative startups and industrial development. It is also planned to actively use artificial intelligence technologies in solving economic tasks, reduce bureaucracy and introduce a single legal status for companies in the EU.

Another important area of work will be to provide companies with affordable raw materials and energy, the press release said.

Earlier, on January 28, European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that for more than 20 years the EU has not kept up with other major economies due to a persistent gap in productivity growth.

On the same day, a group of members of the European Parliament (EP) from different countries revealed the EU's major failure, saying that the European Union, instead of uniting member states, is "pitting" them against each other.

On December 28 last year, a survey by the Austrian Society for European Politics (ÖGfE) showed that the percentage of the country's population supporting EU membership had fallen to a record low of 60% in nearly 30 years.

On December 25, it was reported that in Slovakia in the first quarter of 2025 will begin collecting signatures for the country's withdrawal from the EU and NATO. Prior to that, on December 19, the German party "Alternative for Germany" (AdG) in the framework of the election program called for the withdrawal of Germany from the European Union.