Nokia and Ericsson, joined by European tech innovators ASML and SAP, hosted the “New Industrial Ambition for Europe” summit in Brussels on January 16, 2025. The event brought together European policymakers and business leaders to address Europe’s lagging competitiveness in technology and innovation. Leaders emphasized implementing recommendations from the Draghi and Letta reports, which propose strategies to foster innovation, incentivize investment in key technologies, reduce fragmentation, and scale Europe’s digital economy. Policymakers including Henna Virkkunen, European Commission Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, and Dariusz Standerski, Poland’s Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs, joined the discussion alongside top executives from Nokia, Ericsson, ASML, and SAP.
The summit highlighted Europe’s challenges in R&D spending, capital access, and regulatory complexity compared to the U.S. and China. Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark and Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm called for immediate action to support advanced connectivity infrastructure, telco mergers, and the full implementation of the 5G Security Toolbox to secure Europe’s digital backbone. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet and SAP CEO Christian Klein stressed the urgency of aligning tech investments with EU green goals and reforming education to bridge the talent gap. The CEOs agreed on the critical need for Europe to reduce regulatory burdens, enforce fair practices, and incentivize digitalization to secure its technological and economic future.
• Nokia and Ericsson spearheaded the summit to catalyze EU-wide reforms supporting advanced connectivity, AI, and cloud technologies.
• Recommendations from the Draghi and Letta reports emphasize fostering innovation, streamlining regulation, and enabling market scale.
• CEOs highlighted Europe’s declining competitiveness, including a 30% real GDP gap with the U.S. and slower R&D investment compared to global peers.
• Action areas include implementing the 5G Security Toolbox, incentivizing R&D, aligning connectivity with EU green goals, and supporting telco mergers.
• Notable attendees included Henna Virkkunen (European Commission), Enrico Letta (Jacques Delors Institute), and executives from ASML and SAP.
“European competitiveness already has one foot in the morgue,” said Pekka Lundmark, CEO of Nokia. “But we can still turn this tanker around. Europe must create an environment where businesses want to invest in AI, cloud, and advanced connectivity. This cannot be a decade-long endeavor—Europe must act now.”
