Europe scrambles to reclaim its industrial edge

“The EU industry is notoriously slow to take up new technologies and innovations,” said Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow specializing in competition policy at the Centre for European Reform, a European think-tank.

...Contrast that attitude with the US, Meyers said, “which is a lot more about creative destruction,” with investors willing to support original ideas, take more risks and wait longer for profits.

...“In Europe, you have to hire a group of people to help you figure out where you can get the funding, because it’s dispersed through so many funds and you don’t know if you meet all criteria and how long it will take,” Meyers said.

...What’s important, Meyers said, is for Europe to think long-term as it reenvisions its industrial future.

“Europe is surprisingly good at responding to crises,” he said, pointing to how the bloc handled the energy security crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “But what Europe has trouble focusing on is long-term competitiveness because it’s death by a thousand cuts and not a problem that needs to be addressed tomorrow.”