Opinion

Here are Europe’s three big fears in a Trumpian world

If it fails to adapt, the European Commission may end up looking like the Los Angeles fire department – scrambling to contain the blaze after the damage has already been done.

Kenneth RogoffColumnist

Jan 29, 2025 – 2.00pm

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This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos was brimming with creative ideas about how to save the planet, reduce inequality, and tackle urgent security needs. Overwhelmingly, though, the big takeaway was how depressed the Europeans are about their economy and, especially, about Donald Trump.

Their anxiety is not baseless. The returning US president poses an existential threat to Europe in three key ways.

Kenneth Rogoff is a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund and professor of economics and public policy at Harvard University.