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Podcast Episode
Carnegie Europe

Europe Head-to-Head: Can Europe Rival the United States and China?

Rosa Balfour, Noah Barkin, and Anu Bradford discuss whether Europe can compete with the United States and China.

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By Rosa Balfour, Noah Barkin, Anu Bradford
Published on Jun 3, 2026

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Europe Head-to-Head

Moving beyond rhetoric that calls for Brussels to face its challenges, the Europe Head-to-Head project proposes a continent-wide debate on what the EU must do to meet the moment, navigating the increasingly difficult global landscape to deliver for its citizens.

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Europe is stuck between the United States’ market-driven dynamism and China’s state-led industrial strategy.

Rosa Balfour, Noah Barkin, and Anu Bradford debate whether Europe can leverage its rulemaking power and emerging industrial agenda into genuine competitiveness.

This podcast episode has been produced in the framework of Carnegie’s Europe Head-to-Head project.

Read more:

Anu Bradford, Noah Barkin, May 27, 2026, “Can Europe Compete with the United States and China?,” Carnegie Europe.

Noah Barkin, January 6, 2026, "Watching China in Europe—January 2026," German Marshall Fund.

Noah Barkin, December 1, 2025, "As Europe Dithers, the Cost of Derisking from China Rises," Rhodium Group.

Noah Barkin, January 16, 2025, "Trump and the Europe-US-China Triangle," Rhodium Group.

Anu Bradford, 2023, "Digital Empires. The Global Battle to Regulate Technology," Oxford University Press.

Anu Bradford, 2023, "Europe’s Digital Constitution," Virginia Journal of International Law, Volume 64.

Anu Bradford, 2019, "The Brussels Effect. How the European Union Rules the World," Oxford University Press.

Rosa Balfour, February 8, 2026, "Dependence on the US is Deeply Rooted in the European Mindset," Le Monde.

Rosa Balfour, January 24, 2026, "The EU Finally Used an Economic Threat Against Trump. But the Markets Forced His Climbdown," The Guardian.

Rosa Balfour, April 30, 2025, "Europe Tried to Trump-Proof Itself. Now It’s Crafting a Plan B.," Emissary, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Hosted by

Rosa Balfour
Director, Carnegie Europe
Rosa Balfour

Featuring

Noah Barkin
Senior Advisor, Rhodium Group
Noah Barkin
Anu Bradford
Nonresident Scholar, Europe Program
Anu Bradford

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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