The shifting economic landscape of the EU

Global economy has changed fundamentally in the last decade. Pandemic, wars, rising inflation, economic crisis and political instability has dramatically shifted the power balance among both continents and countries. The competitive position of EU has direcly been affected by these transformations. This study aims to explore their impacts on the competitiveness of all EU countries from the perspectives of actively employed people by taking into account technological developments and demographic factors. The thesis uses a quantitative research approach to understand the differing points of views on the EU's aliged decline. An online survey was conducted from a convenience sample of 500 employees and managers from various economic sectors within the European Union. The survey results are analyzed through frequency analysis, correlation, t-test, and ANOVA, to test the hypothesis on the impact of variables related to global economic transformations, the level of technological progress, and the developments taking place in all emerging markets on the competitiveness of the European Union. One of the findings this thesis shows is that global economic transformations have an important impact on the weakening of a number of traditional sectors within the European Union. This loss of economic power is also triggered by the rapid expansion of emerging markets, On the other hand, technological development has emerged as a pivotal factor supporting the effective and significant enhancement of the competitiveness of European economies. In addition, statistical analyses revealed a strong and significant correlation between several demographic variables, including age, academic level, number of years of experience, and gender diversity, and the level of competitive performance within organizations and the ffectiveness of strategic decision-making. This study offers several practical recommendations that can be used by policymakers in the European Union, emphasizing the importance of developing flexible and comprehensive policies capable of responding to all the rapid transformations currently characterizing the global economy.