The pre-crisis compass guiding economic policy pointed primarily at increasing economic activity, competitiveness, and growth to ensure short-term stability. In light of the dire consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, many wish to return to the familiar normality of pre-crisis times. However, the crisis has made us painfully aware that the pre-crisis compass fell short of sufficiently considering the long-term perspective of the European economy.

While recovering from the crisis, Europe must now take the chance to pave the way for thriving stability. Europe must enable Europeans to flourish while safeguarding its ecological ceiling. It must liberate economic stability and prosperity from economic growth and break away from outdated imperatives.

We do not claim this is an easy shift, and we are not saying we have all the solutions. In fact, we do not even have all the questions yet. But we are part of a nascent global alliance that is willing to work on them. This is an invitation to join us.

The world prior to COVID-19

Given the manifold repercussions and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 crisis, it is understandable that many people wish to return to pre-crisis ‘normality’. Before the current crisis, it seemed as though Europe had finally started to properly recover from the financial crisis of 2008. EU unemployment numbers reached a new historical low of 6.4% in 2019, real GDP growth amounted to 2% in 2018 and in 2017 4.2 million fewer people were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in comparison to 2008.¹ Things looked good on the surface.

Beneath the surface, however, lay an array of significant and crystallising challenges. In fact, the long-term stability of the European economy and society has been and still is at risk with regard to three major dimensions.

Sustainable Prosperity – Made in Europe