By:
Nana Appiah Acquaye
A
group of leading European technology executives has issued a call for urgent,
coordinated action to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in digital
technologies and artificial intelligence, warning that the region risks falling
behind without decisive reforms.
The
appeal was made in a joint op-ed signed by senior executives including Börje
Ekholm of Ericsson, Guillaume Faury of Airbus, Christophe Fouquet of ASML,
Arthur Mensch of Mistral AI, Justin Hotard of Nokia, Christian Klein of SAP,
and Roland Busch of Siemens.
The
executives emphasized that the next phase of global innovation will be driven
by the real-world application of digital capabilities across industries and
infrastructure, and called for stronger, market-driven policy support to
achieve Europe’s strategic objectives.
They
highlighted regulatory complexity as a major barrier to innovation, noting that
overlapping and restrictive rules are slowing the pace of technological
development. The group urged policymakers to prioritise innovation ahead of
regulation and to support the development and deployment of advanced
technologies to maintain leadership in global standards.
The
op-ed also stressed the importance of building strategic resilience through
ownership and development of intellectual property, rather than reliance on
external technologies. It called for reforms to competition and merger
frameworks to enable consolidation and scale, as well as measures to unlock
private investment through initiatives such as the Savings and Investments
Union.
The
call to action follows a meeting between the executives and Ursula von der
Leyen in Brussels, where discussions focused on strengthening Europe’s digital
and industrial base.
The
executives warned that Europe is losing competitiveness and that decisions
taken in the coming years will determine its ability to compete globally. They
pointed to recent policy discussions, including the Draghi and Letta reports,
as evidence of growing recognition that reforms are needed to adapt to rapid
technological and geopolitical changes.
Collectively,
the companies represented generate more than €417 billion in annual revenue,
employ nearly one million people globally, invest over €40 billion in research
and development each year, and hold more than 210,000 patents.
The
group said it stands ready to work with policymakers to translate ambition into
action, calling for bold and immediate steps to secure Europe’s position in the
global digital economy.
