WEF 2026: A ‘spirit of dialogue’ overshadowed by Trump’s monologue

06/ 02/ 2026

Anna Derevyanko. The European Business Association Executive Director. This year’s World Economic Forum was built around the theme ‘A Spirit of Dialogue’ – something that feels increasingly rare in today’s global economic and political debates. Yet as participants leave the picturesque streets of Davos, many seem to do so without clearer answers to their most pressing questions. Instead of greater mutual understanding, the week often revealed how divided global discussions have become. A brave new world? There does seem to be a common understanding that the long period of post-World War II stability is over. After about 70 years of relative calm, the world is moving back toward competition, polarization, and fragmentation, entering a transition to a new global order that is still taking shape. No one seems fully sure what comes next. Even academics are now saying that forecasts no longer help and that we need to think in scenarios instead, to stay ready for very different possible futures. It is therefore no surprise that geopolitical confrontation was listed among the key short-term risks for the next two years in the Global Risks Report 2026, published ahead of WEF. Geopolitics and AI clearly dominated the agenda, while the economy, climate, and social issues received noticeably less attention – despite the fact that the “E” in WEF still stands for economy. The Trump factor All eyes were on Trump, as they have been throughout the past year, with a visibly stronger American presence at WEF. His speech was highly anticipated, yet it turned out to be rather ordinary, repeating messages many had already heard. There were high expectations around the signing of the USD 800 billion U.S.-Ukraine “prosperity deal,” yet it did not materialize. Prosperity and recovery sound promising, but from a freezing Kyiv they still feel distant. A sustainable peace remains the key prerequisite for turning these ambitions into reality. What’s in it for Ukraine? Ukraine, meanwhile, was struggling to keep the attention of the United States and the wider international community, as new urgent global issues came to the forefront, namely Greenland, Venezuela, and Iran. President Zelenskyy’s speech was strong and well-grounded, aimed at delivering a sobering message to Europe about its responsibility for its own security. As the President noted, much of what Ukraine is going through feels repetitive, like Groundhog Day. But is Europe ready to ‘stop talking and start walking’? Time will tell. Even this shared security challenge continues to divide opinions across Europe, often depending on the number of kilometers separating a country from Russia. Calls for action could be heard in many speeches, showing a growing awareness of the situation. As one speaker put it, many in Europe have already woken up, but have not yet gotten out of bed. Despite the security situation, which makes our goal of attracting more businesses to Ukraine harder, the EBA and GB4U teams shared one clear message in Davos: Ukraine remains a promising place to do business. Those who do not want to miss this opportunity should act now – learn the market and build connections. Investing in Ukraine is not only a way to support the country and keep its economy running; it is also a step toward future growth. Investing in Ukraine means investing in a future EU member. The world is changing – so is WEF And one last, quite interesting detail. On a more practical note, walking the streets of Davos, you realise that the town is no longer well suited for an event of this scale. First and foremost, from a logistics point of view. Interestingly, just as we were discussing this with colleagues behind the scenes, the idea of moving WEF appeared in the media. Such a move would reflect the realities of today: WEF has become somewhat captive to stability, and while Davos is beautiful, it no longer fully meets the needs of a global forum of this size. It will be interesting to see if and where WEF goes next and whether a new location can help engage a broader audience and find solutions to global challenges.

Anna Derevyanko The European Business Association Executive Director

This year’s World Economic Forum was built around the theme ‘A Spirit of Dialogue’ – something that feels increasingly rare in today’s global economic and political debates. Yet as participants leave the picturesque streets of Davos, many seem to do so without clearer answers to their most pressing questions. Instead of greater mutual understanding, the week often revealed how divided global discussions have become.

A brave new world?

There does seem to be a common understanding that the long period of post-World War II stability is over. After about 70 years of relative calm, the world is moving back toward competition, polarization, and fragmentation, entering a transition to a new global order that is still taking shape. No one seems fully sure what comes next. Even academics are now saying that forecasts no longer help and that we need to think in scenarios instead, to stay ready for very different possible futures.

It is therefore no surprise that geopolitical confrontation was listed among the key short-term risks for the next two years in the Global Risks Report 2026, published ahead of WEF. Geopolitics and AI clearly dominated the agenda, while the economy, climate, and social issues received noticeably less attention – despite the fact that the “E” in WEF still stands for economy.

The Trump factor

All eyes were on Trump, as they have been throughout the past year, with a visibly stronger American presence at WEF. His speech was highly anticipated, yet it turned out to be rather ordinary, repeating messages many had already heard.

There were high expectations around the signing of the USD 800 billion U.S.-Ukraine “prosperity deal,” yet it did not materialize. Prosperity and recovery sound promising, but from a freezing Kyiv they still feel distant. A sustainable peace remains the key prerequisite for turning these ambitions into reality.

What’s in it for Ukraine?

Ukraine, meanwhile, was struggling to keep the attention of the United States and the wider international community, as new urgent global issues came to the forefront, namely Greenland, Venezuela, and Iran.

President Zelenskyy’s speech was strong and well-grounded, aimed at delivering a sobering message to Europe about its responsibility for its own security. As the President noted, much of what Ukraine is going through feels repetitive, like Groundhog Day. But is Europe ready to ‘stop talking and start walking’? Time will tell.

Even this shared security challenge continues to divide opinions across Europe, often depending on the number of kilometers separating a country from Russia. Calls for action could be heard in many speeches, showing a growing awareness of the situation. As one speaker put it, many in Europe have already woken up, but have not yet gotten out of bed.

Despite the security situation, which makes our goal of attracting more businesses to Ukraine harder, the EBA and GB4U teams shared one clear message in Davos: Ukraine remains a promising place to do business. Those who do not want to miss this opportunity should act now – learn the market and build connections. Investing in Ukraine is not only a way to support the country and keep its economy running; it is also a step toward future growth. Investing in Ukraine means investing in a future EU member.

The world is changing – so is WEF

And one last, quite interesting detail. On a more practical note, walking the streets of Davos, you realise that the town is no longer well suited for an event of this scale. First and foremost, from a logistics point of view. Interestingly, just as we were discussing this with colleagues behind the scenes, the idea of moving WEF appeared in the media. Such a move would reflect the realities of today: WEF has become somewhat captive to stability, and while Davos is beautiful, it no longer fully meets the needs of a global forum of this size. It will be interesting to see if and where WEF goes next and whether a new location can help engage a broader audience and find solutions to global challenges.