Nokia and technology companies appeal: Europe must act together – now

From the reader. Europe is losing its competitiveness. We are facing a crisis that we have largely caused ourselves – and that we can also solve together. It is not only about the economy, but the situation also threatens social cohesion, future well-being and the basis of technological sovereignty.

We are in the midst of an unprecedented geopolitical and technological upheaval. The decisions of the coming months and years will determine whether Europe can compete and succeed in the coming decades.

As CEOs of technology companies, we are at the heart of this change. From semiconductors to advanced networking solutions, and from aerospace and defense to artificial intelligence, we see how change is moving rapidly from models to real-world systems.

We are aware of our responsibilities and roles. Together, our companies generate a turnover of 417 billion euros and the combined market value is almost 1.1 trillion euros. We employ more than 957,000 high-tech experts, invest more than 40 billion euros in research and development annually, and control 213,000 patents worldwide.

We form the core of Europe’s key technology chains and the strong ecosystems that rely on them, on which Europe’s technological sovereignty is based. This lays the groundwork for Europe to take a leading position in the next technological revolution, where technologies move into practical applications and devices.

Europe’s strengths must be scaled

Europe has the necessary know-how, ecosystems and technology, but too often these strengths cannot be scaled. The challenges are a fragmented market and complex and often overlapping regulation, which makes it difficult to keep up with the pace of development.

The challenge is illustrated by the fact that more than three years after the “ChatGPT moment” in Europe, regulation is still being debated at the same time that competitors have already moved to scale artificial intelligence to physical systems and robotics.

Europe must ensure that innovation is not regulated in advance, but that tomorrow’s standards are created by developing and introducing new technology.

However, we see the will to bring about change. Mario Draghin and Enrico Lettan reports as well as the European Commission’s Competitiveness Program recognize that Europe needs to start acting differently.

This readiness for change must be harnessed to reform Europe’s digital regulation. The rules should act as flexible boundary conditions, not as rigid and detailed requirements.

Achieving Europe’s strategic goals requires a market-based policy that takes into account the special characteristics of different industries. It must support spearhead projects and attract private capital by realizing the vision of a savings and investment union. Strategically important business arrangements must be secured by reforming competition regulations.

It’s time to rise to the challenge

Building strategic resilience requires the introduction of reliable technology and the acceleration of dual-use innovations by dismantling the silos of the civil and defense sectors. Long-term sovereignty requires determined support and scaling of European innovations, as well as improving the skills and mobility of the workforce.

These must be based on a geoeconomic strategy that protects Europe’s interests, promotes a unified trade policy, protects Europe’s interests and enables European companies to succeed internationally. We need a forum for continuous dialogue between business and political leaders. In this way, we ensure that political decisions are based on the needs of companies and the dynamics of global markets.

Europe needs to move from ambitious goals to practical actions. The commission is chaired Ursula von der Leyenin took important first steps under the leadership. Now we must join forces and focus on practical actions.

We believe in the creativity and innovation ability of Europeans. We are ready to do our part and support European decision-makers – it’s time to meet the challenge together.

Justin Hotard, CEO, Nokia

Guillaume Faury, CEO, Airbus

Christophe Fouquet, CEO, ASML

Börje Ekholm, CEO, Ericsson

Arthur Mensch, CEO, Mistral AI

Christian Klein, CEO, SAP

Roland Busch, CEO, Siemens