How well is Europe positioned to deal with the competitive and highly connected G20 world? Are Europeans primed to be world-class players? Or are they complacent, failing to meet their challenges while a world of opportunities passes them by? How does the European Union compare to other dynamic economies? Where are its links thick, where are they thin, and how are they changing?

In this study, Daniel Hamilton offers a comprehensive, up-to-date look. He shows how the EU is connected to other continents, and what those ties mean for Europe's competitiveness in a G20 world. He explains the EU’s global links in goods, services, money, energy, people and ideas. He maps each of these flows and describes how they affect relations between the EU and other world regions. He assesses the EU's strengths and weaknesses, and offers four scenarios for the EU's future.

In the context of today's debates about the rise of other world regions, this book offers some unanticipated conclusions and makes recommendations with important implications for decision makers in Europe—and around the globe.