Why is Europe falling behind the US?

Even before there was talk of a trade war between the US and EU, Europe was on the economic backfoot.

But it wasn’t always the case.

In 2008, the EU was the world’s biggest economy - today, the US economy is $9.5 trillion bigger than the EUs.

So what has happened?

Presented and produced by Rob Young

(Image: An employee fixes the seat to a Volkswagen AG Tiguan on the production line at the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany. The company said in March 2025 that profits had fallen amid high costs and Chinese competition. Credit: Getty Images)