ECIPE Seminar: Europe´s New Industrial Policy

Industrial policy is back! Both the French and the German governments have recently presented a set of radical proposals designed to reshape EU industrial and competition policy. One of the suggestions is to empower the European Council to veto European Commission decisions on competition policy. This case for changes comes hard on the heels of the European Commission’s rejection of the rail merger between Alstom and Siemens.

The discussions on industrial policy have been dominated by the desires to create new ‘European Champions’. Some view competition policy as a block to big-company mergers and as a threat to Europe’s economy. For others, these ‘Champions’ may do more harm than good, stifling innovation and abusing their market power.