Unless EU countries take on more joint debt, they risk losing ground both at home and on the global stage under a budget that is simply too small, Séamus Boland, president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), told Euractiv. With its next seven-year budget, the EU hopes to chip away at a massive investment gap with the US and China, while ramping up defence spending as Russia’s war drags on and Washington looks less reliable as a partner. [...]