European futures and the fifth human revolution

Robert MADELIN Chairman of FIPRA International, a public affairs consultancy [vc_btn title= »Télécharger l’article » color= »primary » align= »right » i_icon_fontawesome= »fa fa-file-pdf-o » add_icon= »true » link= »url:http%3A%2F%2Fconfrontations.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F10%2FP08-Confrontations-Europe-123.pdf||target:%20_blank| »] My personal sense of Europe today is of a continent facing what are essentially global challenges, enjoying world-class assets with which to overcome the challenges, distracted by local difficulties that are symptomatic of those challenges, and in search of the leadership under which to realise its full potential. No man is an island, and no continent is self-contained. 21st century Europe faces deep drivers of disruption that are common across the globe. Unsustainable resource use. An ageing population. A data technological revolution (the 4th Industrial Revolution) that upends our society’s underlying conceptual frameworks. A global economy where there will no longer be room at the top for both the incumbent West and the rest.  Europe in this world is not finished. Europe retains a set of distinctive social values with which to define and steer a winning strategy in the current turmoil. That