{
  "id": 8883089,
  "title": "Beyond the obvious: Europas neue Rechnung in Billionenhöhe – und der teure Irrtum",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/beyond-the-obvious-europas-neue-rechnung-in-billionenhohe-und-der",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-21T08:29:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/meinung/wirtschaftsforum/beyond-the-obvious-europas-neue-rechnung-in-billionenhoehe-und-der-teure-irrtum/100255455.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "The European Union is proposing a massive financial increase, with the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFR) for the years 2028-2034 expected to reach nearly two trillion euros, a 60% rise. While Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasizes completing the single market, streamlining bureaucracy, and lower energy prices as key drivers for increased competitiveness, the implementation reveals a journey towards a centralized Union with strategic autonomy and competitive advantages coming from Brussels' increased bureaucracy. This course of action, rather than a necessary course correction, risks further widening the gap in prosperity levels. A recent study by economists Cesare Buiatti, Joao Duarte, and Luis Felipe Sáenz analyzed five decades of European and American productivity growth (study \"Europe Falling Behind: Structural Transformation and Labor Productivity Growth Differences Between Europe and the U.S.\"). It found that Europe had reached 72% of US productivity per hour in 1970, almost matching the US level by 1995. However, since then, the trend has reversed, and Europe now only achieves around 86% of the US level.",
  "summary": "Die EU will ihre Zukunft mit noch mehr Geld sichern. Doch ob das auch mehr wirtschaftliche Stärke bringt, hängt von der Frage ab: Wofür soll Europa seine Kräfte einsetzen? Ein Gastbeitrag.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}