Europe's Future Beyond Energy

For example in tech ...

McKinsey Global Institute

Securing Europe’s future beyond energy: Addressing its corporate and technology gap  May 4, 2022 | Article

By Sven Smit, Magnus Tyreman, Jan Mischke, Philipp Ernst, Matthias Evers, Eric Hazan, Jurica Novak, and Solveigh Hieronimus

Securing Europe’s future beyond energy: Addressing its corporate and technology gap

European leaders have shown great resolve in their initial response at scale and speed to the war in Ukraine. They will need to build the same momentum to face the region’s slow-motion corporate and technology crisis. An estimated €2 trillion to €4 trillion of annual value could be at stake—six times the amount needed for the net-zero transition—and with it Europe’s long-term prosperity and strategic autonomy. A program of 11 actions can turn the tide.

Europe as it is today has been forged in times of crisis. The European Union (EU) was created in response to the ravages of World War II. The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the start of a period of economic catching up by economies in Central and Eastern Europe. The 2008 financial crisis and the eurozone crisis that followed led to more financial cooperation among European countries. The COVID-19 pandemic then triggered a higher level of fiscal coordination through the Next Generation 

Most recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine not only is a humanitarian catastrophe but has exposed a range of fragilities, from food security and energy to defense. The war has accentuated the reality that resilience depends on a strong economy with strategic autonomy in these critical areas that has long been taken for granted.

Technology is pivotal, too. Unless Europe catches up with other major regions on key technologies, it will be vulnerable across all sectors on growth and competitiveness—compromising the region’s relatively robust record on sustainability and inclusion—as well as security and strategic strength, hindering long-term resilience.   .... '