‘Buy European’ Initiative Gains Momentum at Strategic Policy Summit

The European Union’s “Buy European” initiative gained significant momentum during the strategic policy summit focused on Europe’s industrial competitiveness challenges. Leaders from all 27 member states developed frameworks for protecting strategic sectors while addressing broader competitiveness constraints.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s metaphor about European leaders “standing on the bridge of the ship, staring at the horizon, without touching the helm” captured frustration with Europe’s inability to match the decisiveness of American and Chinese policymaking. American passage of the Inflation Reduction Act demonstrated capacity for rapid policy action with enormous economic impact, offering massive subsidies for green investments in the United States that have attracted European companies to invest across the Atlantic. Chinese industrial policies channel even larger resources into strategic sectors with lightning speed. Meanwhile, Europe debates endlessly about policies that are then implemented slowly if at all.
This decisiveness gap partly reflects different political systems. American presidential systems can act quickly when president and Congress align, though they can also produce gridlock when divided. Chinese authoritarian systems can implement policies with minimal consultation or debate. European consensus democracy requires agreement among 27 member states and often among coalition governments within member states, making rapid action difficult. However, the decisiveness gap also reflects European ambivalence about using state power for economic ends, with ideological commitments to free markets creating resistance to industrial policy even when competitors are winning through state intervention.
The summit’s brainstorming format aimed to overcome this decisiveness gap by building consensus around the need for action. By bringing leaders together for extended discussions away from daily political pressures, the summit format enables more strategic thinking than is possible in normal policy processes focused on incremental decisions. The moated castle setting reinforced the sense of retreat for strategic reflection. Former Prime Ministers Draghi and Letta’s presentations provided intellectual frameworks for discussions, helping leaders think systematically about Europe’s challenges rather than reacting to immediate crises.
However, translating summit consensus into actual policy implementation remains challenging. Ursula von der Leyen’s promise of an action plan by March represents first step, but implementing that plan will require legislation that must pass through European Parliament and member state approvals. Vested interests will mobilize to protect their positions. Member states will advance competing national priorities. Budget constraints will limit available resources. The gap between summit aspirations and policy realities has frustrated many previous European initiatives that foundered on implementation challenges.
Von der Leyen’s expressed confidence that “the pressure and the sense of urgency is enormous and that can move mountains” reflects hope that crisis can enable changes that would be impossible under normal circumstances. The 2008 financial crisis enabled banking union and enhanced fiscal rules that had been discussed inconclusively for years. The COVID-19 pandemic enabled unprecedented joint borrowing to fund recovery programs that had been politically impossible before the crisis. Similarly, the current competitiveness crisis might enable regulatory reforms and industrial policies that powerful interests would normally block. Whether this optimism proves justified will depend on whether European leaders can maintain political will through the difficult implementation process that will extend years beyond this summit.