A common budget that makes common sense

Europe’s existential challenges keep piling up . From rising energy bills and defense spending to a dizzying race for AI leadership, the €1.2 trillion in annual investment the continent needs to stay competitive looks increasingly like an underestimate. Addressing these challenges cannot come at the expense of the resources needed to strengthen integration, solidarity and a robust welfare state — core elements of the European project and our safest bet for securing the EU’s place on the world stage. As Europe rushes to unify its capital markets and mobilize trillions of euros in idle household savings, it should also pursue a long-term financial framework that breaks with its reactive past. Instead, we are moving in the opposite direction.