Europe must find a few carrots for its ailing industry

When they want to show that Europe still matters, politicians pull the regulatory card. “See? Companies from all over the world want to comply with our regulations to get access to our single market! And we’re the ones who reined in those privacy-violating American tech giants!” Congratulations, but I’d rather see Europe inspire awe for very different reasons, namely as a formidable competitor.

ASML’s dazzling performance may have blinded us to the fact that the European industry isn’t doing well. In the first twenty years of this century, Europe’s share of the global industry fell from 25 percent to 16 percent. In 2008, the European and US economies were roughly the same size; today, the latter is nearly 50 percent bigger. European companies – exceptions such as ASML aside – lag in profitability, growth and investment. In emerging technologies, such as batteries and artificial intelligence, there are no European competitors going head-to-head with the big players.