JD Vance's warning on Europe's future shines spotlight on continent's growing list of problems
Freedom of speech is under attack as many complain of a two-tier justice system and, making things even more problematic, Europe's economy is not performing as expected.
The U.K.'s economy has remained stagnant for the last three years with no growth in per capita income. "The country has pathetic performance, says Ben Habib, chairman of the Great British Political Action Committee, and former co-deputy leader of Reform UK. "The U.K. has become even worse than Europe."
Migration is now a national talking point. Immigration increased to between 1.2 and 1.3 million in 2022 and 2023, up from around 800,000 before the pandemic. It's causing friction.
"National togetherness is now being torn to shreds as unprecedented levels of mass migration transform parts of our country beyond recognition," observed Conservative Party Member of Parliament Robert Jenrick in a column for the UK Conservative & Reformer Post. "We have imported ethnic and religious tensions, meaning that conflicts on the other side of the world play out on Britain's streets."
Earlier this week, the State Department said it was monitoring the case of a woman in Britain who was put on trial for holding a sign offering counseling to women outside an abortion facility in the United Kingdom.
Fox News Digital reported the woman said, "Great Britain is supposed to be a free country, yet I've been dragged through court merely for offering consensual conversation … peaceful expression is a fundamental right—no one should be criminalized for harmless offers to converse."
Violent assaults have also marred many parts of the U.K., when compared to other members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD.) Scotland topped the list with 1,487 assaults per 100,000 people, according to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. England and Wales ranked number three on the list with 730 violent assaults per 100,000 residents.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Britain was facing a free speech crisis due to the new left-leaning government, overzealous policing and courts cracking down on freedom of expression. Last August, the government warned its citizens to be mindful of posting content deemed offensive and threatened imprisonment. The Crown Prosecution Service posted a warning to social media platform X, which was amplified by the government's official social media accounts, warning citizens, "Think before you post!" UNITED KINGDOM COULD BE ONLY G7 NATION NOT TO PRODUCE ITS OWN STEEL; CHINESE OWNER BLAMES TRUMP TARIFFS
France's economy has expanded in each of the last four years, but the rate of growth slowed dramatically. France also has a high debt level that will make it hard for the economy to grow fast, Venetis says.
Migration is a continuing problem in France with an influx of 317, 000 immigrants from outside the EU in 2022, up from 222,000 in 2013.
Right-wing politicians, such as those in the National Rally, are highlighting the friction that the influx of people who don't want to integrate into French society. National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, who up until this week was a leading candidate for the country's 2027 presidential election, was just given a two-year prison sentence by a French court, which found her and other party colleagues guilty of embezzling public funds. Le Pen called the sentence a 'death sentence,' and said she felt they were "only interested" in preventing her from running for president.
Violent assaults in France ranked near the middle of the OECD list with 310 cases per 100,000 in the population.
Germany's economy has been in a recession for the last two years. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased to 6.3% in March, from 5.9% last April. That's partly due to soaring energy prices and competition from China.
"People are not happy about the fact that unemployment is picking up," says Konstantinos Venetis, an economist at TS Lombard. He also says the statistics mask many workers' reduced paid hours on the job. "The amount of people on this status has gone up considerably."
Migration surged to 1.6 million non-EU immigrants in 2022, up from less than half a million in 2021.Germany's right-wing populist AfD party has pushed to deport migrants seeking asylum, and its message gained traction with voters during February's national election, where it came in second with 20.7% of the vote. The winning conservative Christian Democrats party was forced to adopt stronger immigration policies as a result of AfD's success with voters.
The country had a relatively high number of violent assaults, ranking sixth in the OECD list with 630 cases per 100,000 people.
The third-largest economy in the EU has grown every quarter since the end of the pandemic, although, like many countries, the rate of growth has slowed.
At the same time, the debt level as a percentage of GDP dropped to 135% last year versus 138% in 2022 when Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni took over.
Meloni has been credited with her hard stance on illegal migrants. In 2024, the number of migrants totaled 67,317, down almost 60% from 157,651 the previous year. The drop is at least partly due a deal between Italy and Albania to enhance border controls, creating legal ways to immigrate and deterring illegal entry to the country.
Violent assaults were low at 110 per 100,000 residents.
Poland's economy grew by 2.9% last year, slightly more than the estimated 2.8% growth in the U.S., all while beefing up its defense sector and housing an influx of Ukrainians due to the Russian-Ukrainian war."Poland is a powerhouse and has national pride," Habib says. "It's a phenomenal country."
The country also has a low level of asylum requests of 9,513 and 17,038 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. That compares to 237,314 in neighboring Germany.
Levels of asylum claims in Poland are likely to remain low as Prime Minister Donald Tusk doubled down on illegal immigration. Late last month (March) he temporarily suspended the rights of immigrants to claim asylum.
"I believe that it is necessary to strengthen the security of our borders and the security of Poles," said Poland's President Andrzej Duda, who signed off on the bill, as reported by Euro News.
Poland had the lowest violent assault ranking in the OECD list at two cases per 100,000
Hungary's economy suffered a setback in 2023 but is now recovering, with growth of 0.4% in the fourth quarter of last year. Analysts at Trading Economics project that the country will grow by 2.7% next year and 3.6% in 2027.
Migration from outside Europe has remained low at 57,000 in 2022 versus 45,000 in 2023. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban recently tweeted: "Don't be afraid to stand alone. When 26 others accepted mass migration, we built a fence and said no. Now, more and more PMs are saying exactly what Hungary said ten years ago—they've realized we were right."
Violent assaults in Hungary ranked low with 124 cases per 100,000 people.
Fox News Digital's Kristine Parks contributed to this article.
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