This is obviously nonsense. EU has companies in all businesses and in many many fields the market leaders.
Two big weaknesses though: They are generally behind in the tech world (but even there it depends, see e.g. ASML) where scale really matters and scale is much easier and quicker to achieve with a single language and legal system like US and China.
Where Europe is also weaker is finance, which in the US is a barely regulated free for all compared to the EU context. This in turn reflects in market capitalization and stock prices where a US company with equal (or lower) output than an EU company will generally have a much higher valuation.
> EU has companies in all businesses and in many many fields the market leaders.
I think this is an increasingly optimistic view.
The EU cannot even begin to compete with big US, Canadian, Chinese tech companies. It just doesn't have the drive or initiative to do so. And now that almost everything is a big tech company... the outlook looks bit worrying.
There are other markets other than tech, you know? OP explicitly excluded tech ( with some exceptions like ASML).
Cars, aviation, logistics, trains, elevators, chemistry, pharmaceutical, energy, engines, turbines, defence, to name just a few sectors where there are huge EU-based companies which are market leaders worldwide.
And there are lots of tech companies, most are just focusing on their local and sometimes neighbouring markets - Back Market, Doctolib, N26, Revolut (to name a few i know and have used in France), and are thus smaller than their American counterparts. It has nothing to do with drive or initiative.
My point was that other markets are being eaten by tech.
Cars are a great example - Tesla for example operates as a tech company. Logistics another great example - being eaten by Amazon. Bio is probably next with all the tech funded work being done in Boston now. Etc etc.
And focusing on local markets… we’ll yeah that is a lack or drive and initiative. While you’re focusing on your local market US tech is coming for you.
Tesla are operating as a tech company, and it shows - they have pretty bad quality control issues. They still remain a small manufacturer, and don't have much technological advantage, giants such as VW, Stellantis(PSA+FCA) and Renault having catched up.
Some sectors are moving to tech-first approaches, like fintech, and there are plenty of european ones. Same goes for Bio ( BioNTech?).
Trying to expand before you have a stable local market is stupidly risky. Furthermore, some concepts aren't easy to export, or require significant legal and translation work. EU-based startups have plenty of drive and initiative, try to conquer their local and neighbouring markets ( e.g. Ornikar is a driving license online tutoring startup, who started in France, are expanding in Spain and will probably add more; but each new market is basically redoing almost everything from scratch). Those markets are smaller than the US and China, who are very protective, so the resulting companies are smaller. So what? Not everything is about infinite growth and trillion dollar companies.
That’s the point - why are we always playing catch-up? Why don’t we come up with anything ourselves? Legacy companies just about managing to keep pace doesn’t make me comfortable.
> basically redoing almost everything from scratch
Well yeah that’s part of the problem. Europe needs to get over being so beaurocratic and stubborn.
> stupidly risky
I just think US people would think the risk was worth it, while we wouldn’t… and well just look at the results.
Not everything is about trillion dollar companies but I worry the European tech sector will get entirely eaten by the US if it stays happy to be small and inoffensive. Ideally we’d be able to compete with the US globally. If we aren’t that worries me for our ability for self-determination.
Are you seriously suggesting Stellantis is catching up? You must be joking.
And Tesla sells by far the most BEV, literally 100% more. VW is catching up relatively but globally they are still far behind. And other car makers like Stellantis are basically nowhere. The CEO of Stellantis literally just commented on that.
And Tesla is really not so small anymore and they are growing very fast.
> but each new market is basically redoing almost everything from scratch
This is very true being in that situation. Getting a German bank to buy even a Swiss product is very difficult.
Two big weaknesses though: They are generally behind in the tech world (but even there it depends, see e.g. ASML) where scale really matters and scale is much easier and quicker to achieve with a single language and legal system like US and China.
Where Europe is also weaker is finance, which in the US is a barely regulated free for all compared to the EU context. This in turn reflects in market capitalization and stock prices where a US company with equal (or lower) output than an EU company will generally have a much higher valuation.