EU leaders push rival fixes to reverse bloc's 'decline'Emmanuel Macron said that Europe needed to be an 'independent power'ANTWERP (BELGIUM) - EU leaders told industry executives on Wednesday they were committed to transforming the bloc's lagging economy into a global powerhouse able to confront US and Chinese competition. But he was lukewarm on Macron's "Buy European" push and avoided the topic of joint debt altogether -- setting his sights instead on the need to slash EU "red tape". Addressing EU lawmakers in Strasbourg earlier Wednesday, von der Leyen outlined key steps to bridging the gap with China and the United States. To tackle this, Plan A would be to advance together as 27 states, but von der Leyen said some member states could go ahead in a smaller group. "I want it by 27 but if it is necessary to speed up the whole process, we will go by enhanced cooperation," von der Leyen said.

Source: Bangkok Post February 11, 2026 21:52 UTC