Lagarde Urges European Integration as US Steps Back From Global Order

ECB President Christine Lagarde told a World Economic Forum council in Geneva that Europe's postwar growth model, built on globalisation and a US-backed security umbrella, is weakening as Washington disengages from the old international order. She called for "better integration" across Europe on defence and innovation, including pooled capital markets and public funding for tech scale-ups, to close a widening investment gap with the US and China. This reflects renewed pressure among European leaders toward centralised EU defence and economic coordination.