The French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, sounded “the alarm” on Friday 8 November in Brussels, urging the European Union to provide itself with the necessary means to assert its economic and financial power against the United States and China, failing which it risks “vassalisation”.
Building on the statements made the day before by French President Emmanuel Macron to The Economist, he raised questions about revising European fiscal rules, while economic growth remains weak in Europe and massive investments are needed to compete in the mastery of new technologies (artificial intelligence, data storage) and renewable energies with international competitors.
“Launching a debate on creating exceptions for these investments” is the right way forward, said Bruno Le Maire, while stressing that France respects the Stability and Growth Pact.
Reiterating his call for the creation of European champions, he wanted to play the role of instructor. To develop such champions, a mature technology and market are necessary, because “France does not support the idea of state creation of industrial champions”, he stressed, highlighting the European Battery Alliance project.
And, according to Mr Le Maire, the European Commission’s Competition departments would be wise to consider the single market not only as a consumer market, but also as “the market of the worker and the company”, said the Minister, who met Vice-President Margrethe Vestager on Friday.
After the rejection of the Siemens/Alstom merger, Germany and France are calling for a revision of the rules governing mergers, in particular by revising the concept of a relevant market (see EUROPE 12318/8, 12188/1).
While not denying the difficulty of convincing his partners, Mr Le Maire maintained his proactive approach. “Are we capable of having, for 5G, European equipment to ensure our sovereignty?”, he asked. However, there’s no suggestion of banning the Chinese group Huawei, which provides infrastructure to Bouygues in France, because “we do not discriminate against any company whatsoever”. Nevertheless, the Minister considered it legitimate for France to defend its sovereign interests, in particular by maintaining control over the most sensitive data.
And Mr Le Maire also wondered: the two major European industrialists - Nokia and Ericsson - are “a few months behind” in the 5G arena: “will Europe invest more in these companies” or are we waiting for the United States to buy Ericsson? (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)