EU in panic after Trump’s victory, Italy’s Meloni warns can’t rely on US

European leaders are panicking over the historic victory of Republican leader Donald Trump in the 2024 United States presidential elections, with calls growing for economic overhaul and reforms to boost growth. As European leaders gather in Hungary’s Budapest to discuss pressing economic issues these days, Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has warned it was high time the 27-nation bloc found a “balance”.

“Don’t ask what the US can do for you, ask what Europe should do for itself,” the Italian leader said. “Europe must find a balance. We know what we have to do,” she added.

The European Union has ample reasons to be worried over a Trump presidency in the US, amid fears over his policies concerning Ukraine war, NATO and trade protectionism. Trump previously warned the EU will have to pay “a big price” for not allowing wider market access to the US companies.

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Earlier, former Italian prime minister and European Central Bank chief, Mario Draghi, also warned in a report that the 27-nation bloc faced a “slow and agonising decline” if it failed to act fast.

In a details report, Draghi proposed to inject a massive €800 billion investment booster shot into the European economy in a year, almost equal to five per cent of the EU’s total annual economic output. To implement this proposal, the EU may have to rely on more borrowings, something that remains a red line for a few economies.

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“We have postponed too many important decisions in order to find consensus [among EU member states],” Draghi warned while talking to reporters. “That consensus did not come, and as a result we have suffered lower economic growth, and now stagnation,” he added.

Additionally, fears of instability within the EU bloc have grown as political crises weigh down two of the biggest European economies: France and Germany. Germany’s coalition government collapsed Wednesday (Nov 6) whereas Emmanuel Macron, the French president, continues to function without a parliamentary majority.

(With inputs from agencies)