Europe benched in high tech 'Champions League' says ASML The EU needs to get serious and act more decisively and collectively if it wants economic security, especially in advanced technology, as it is trailing global rivals such as Japan, China, and the US. This was the sobering opinion from Dutch photolithography giant ASML at a conference on European competitiveness and economic …
The problem of EU is corruption. Too many people want as big slice of the pie as they can get their paws on.
The best way to get a brown envelope is to create a bureaucratic roadblock and being "difficult". If the number of corrupt officials goes beyond the critical mass, nothing can be done.
It's not necessarily corruption, but I do agree that many countries want to use the EU to further their own interests.
France comes to mind in this regard. The country sees the EU merely as a vehicle to further its own agenda and if possible to let other Europeans pay for supporting its industries. If Germany ever wakes up and becomes more proactive I see the EU crumbling very quickly.
Did you know that France intended to blow up the European Union after the German reunification? Their stance was that if they couldn't lead and mold the EU to serve their own self-interests they weren't interested in being a part of it. That illustrates how France sees the EU.
"The problem of EU is corruption. Too many people want as big slice of the pie as they can get their paws on."
And not in China or the US? pull the other one!!
The real problem with tech development (as well as many other things) in the EU, is that the priority for most people and countries is always country first, EU second (or further back), while in the US and China it's country first, second and third.
I'm unsure about what ASML's CEO is proposing. Does he want the EU to buy more of his machines or more financial support for European chip manufacturers so they can buy ASML's machines?
There's a huge demand for electronics so if I were ASML I'd propose export subsidies for its machines to non-aligned countries like Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia.
India is also a huge potential market but I'd be careful supporting the sub-continent since it may develop in a similar manner to China in the intermediate future, becoming a threat to Western interests and the West itself.
India is very different from China. Much as I dislike the current Indian government, it is still a democracy, and has free press and meaningful opposition.
its interests may not be aligned with the West's, but not all Western countries interests are aligned either. Do the US and Germany have the same difference priorities? Not since China became a bigger threat than Russia to the US. Do the UK and the US have the same economic interests? Sometimes.
“THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT encouraged the Pakistani government in a March 7, 2022, meeting to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine”
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