Ericsson and Nokia, alongside European technology leaders ASML and SAP, are driving a push for a renewed industrial vision for Europe, aiming to secure the region’s prosperity through innovation, investment, tech leadership, and digitalization.
They stress the urgency of implementing the Draghi and Letta reports, which call for fostering innovation, incentivizing investment in critical technologies, reducing fragmentation, and enabling scale.
Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm and Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark — at the New Industrial Action for Europe summit in Brussels — highlighted Europe’s competitive lag behind the US and China, exacerbated by lower R&D investments and a significant productivity gap.
Europe’s tech sector is significantly lagging behind the US and China. In 2023, the R&D expenditure of the top seven US tech firms equaled half of Europe’s total public and private R&D spending across all sectors.
European companies face a €450 billion gap in R&D and capital formation, resulting in a 20 percent annual productivity disadvantage. With US firms investing 60 percent more in R&D and leading in productivity growth, Europe risks falling further behind in the global technology race.
The CEOs urge policymakers to create a supportive regulatory environment to attract investments, prioritize advanced connectivity, and address connectivity gaps across Europe. They emphasize the criticality of secure and trusted networks for economic resilience and the digitalization of sectors like defense.
Key demands include reducing regulatory burdens, incentivizing R&D, supporting telco consolidation, digitizing public administration, modernizing education, and aligning connectivity with green goals.
There is a call to fully implement the 5G Security Toolbox and set clear 5G deployment targets while ensuring fair business practices and removing harmful proposals like the legislative framework on Standard Essential Patents. Immediate action is deemed necessary to safeguard Europe’s technological competitiveness and future prosperity, CEOs of Ericsson and Nokia said.
