The “European Paralysis” scenario assumes the economic downturn of the European economies due to an enhancement of economic activity in Asia, the U.S. and South / Central America. The economic enhancement is grounded on the catch up effect of medium-high tech industries in terms of productivity and technological improvements within regions outside the EU. In addition, European industries will not be able to assert their leading position by further process and technology advancements. Furthermore, the relocation will be fostered by significant differences in labour costs. As a consequence, the role of the EU in global economics and trade is expected to decline. The expected ageing of society (population decrease) and less immigration (due to shortage of labour) are expected to exacerbate this development:
Enhancement of medium / high tech manufacturing industries and production processes in regions / countries outside the EU due to technological and productivity improvements;
Shift of economic power to Asia, U.S. and South / Central America;
The EU external trade and division of work will decline;
Stagnating economic growth in Europe;
Ageing society due to decreasing population and less immigration;
Decreasing intra-EU demand and supply;
Status quo of trade barriers;
No further EU enlargement.
The following table reveals the estimated impacts on logistic strategies for the different scenarios, whereas the arrows depict the direction of impact ( strong increase; moderate increase; stagnation, moderate decrease strong decrease).