Europe’s competitive landscape is being reshaped by a new wave of state-subsidised foreign entrants across ecommerce, retail, pharmaceuticals and advanced manufacturing. The tension is structural: whether Europe can maintain an open market while defending itself against distortions created by overseas industrial policy and large-scale public subsidies. At stake is Europe’s ability to sustain high-value industries, protect its industrial workforce and preserve long-term strategic autonomy.

Efforts to defend “European champions” have intensified, yet policymakers remain divided on how far competition rules should bend. EU regulators argue that less competition would undermine Europe’s long-term strength, even as political leaders call for mergers that could create continental-scale firms capable of matching Chinese or US rivals. Meanwhile, international platforms and manufacturers continue expanding in Europe—driven by cost advantages, resilient supply chains and an increasingly assertive global commercial strategy—while European companies simultaneously increase their investments overseas. These dynamics expose deep vulnerabilities in Europe’s regulatory, trade and industrial frameworks.

This Financial Times webinar, hosted in partnership with PPF Group, will bring together senior policymakers, economists, industry executives and academics to examine how Europe should respond to intensifying subsidy-driven competition, what a fair and effective industrial strategy might look like, and where Europe must adapt to safeguard its future competitiveness. Participants will gain clarity on the policy tools available, the political trade-offs involved, and the implications for Europe’s industrial base.

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