Europe didn’t wake up one morning and decide to love defence. Politicians woke up and finally realised it had lost half of its industrial base.
A few data points:
- Europe once produced over 25% of the world’s semiconductors.
Today: less than 10%. - Europe dominated the mobile industry (Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens).
Today: practically 0%. - Europe produced 50%+ of the world’s solar panels in 2007.
Today: less than 3%.
So where can Europe still be among the leaders?
Yes, these are defence, aerospace and high-complexity engineering.
These sectors won’t disappear like smartphones or TVs did.
And that makes them central to Europe’s long-term industrial strategy.
