The European Commission has presented an ambitious vision: Europe should become the world’s first electro-powered continent. Electrification is increasingly presented as the foundation of Europe’s future economy, promising lower emissions, greater energy security, improved competitiveness and reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels.
The ambition is significant. Yet electrification changes dependency more than it eliminates it.
Europe may gradually become less dependent on imported fossil fuels, while becoming increasingly dependent upon electricity grids, digital infrastructure, industrial coordination and computational intelligence. Electricity appears remarkably simple at the point of consumption. It becomes extraordinarily complex at the point of architecture.
This shifts the debate. The primary challenge is no longer simply generating more renewable electricity. It is designing the interconnected system that allows millions of new electric assets to function together reliably, efficiently and competitively.
The question is therefore no longer whether Europe can electrify. The question is whether Europe can build the architecture that electrification requires.
Read More
At first glance, the latest exchange between ASML and TSMC appears to be a familiar commercial disagreement. TSMC has indicated that it does not yet see a compelling business case for adopting ASML’s High NA EUV lithography systems, citing their considerable cost. ASML, meanwhile, has highlighted Intel’s commitment to High NA as evidence that the technology already has an important place in the industry’s future.
What makes this episode remarkable is not the disagreement itself, but the fact that two of the world’s most influential semiconductor companies appear to be negotiating their positions largely in public.
Major decisions about next-generation manufacturing technology are normally discussed behind closed doors. By communicating through earnings presentations, interviews and press releases, both companies are also speaking to investors, governments, customers and competitors. The discussion therefore extends well beyond a single purchasing decision. It is shaping expectations about where the semiconductor industry is heading next.
Yet the most important story may lie beneath the debate over High NA itself.
Read More
Europe’s approach to industrial policy appears to be changing. Rather than viewing leading technology companies simply as market participants, the European Commission is increasingly engaging a small group of firms whose technologies underpin Europe’s long-term competitiveness.
Airbus, ASML, Ericsson, Mistral AI, Nokia, SAP and Siemens represent very different industries. Yet together they cover many of the technologies Europe considers strategically essential: semiconductors, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, aerospace, industrial software and advanced manufacturing.
Recent discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggest that this is about more than individual policy consultations. They may signal the emergence of a new model of industrial cooperation—one in which Europe’s most strategically important technology companies help shape the continent’s future competitiveness.
Read More
Why do some careers capture the imagination while others remain largely invisible? This Perspective explores how identity, cultural narratives and societal expectations shape educational choices—and why those choices increasingly influence the Netherlands’ future capacity to innovate.
Stories do more than entertain. They help people understand themselves and the societies they inhabit. Through the example of Sala Beckett in Barcelona, this article explores how theatre, writing and dialogue transform human experience into shared understanding.
Latvia is redefining its role within Europe’s strategic landscape. Through transport corridors, digital connectivity, energy integration and resilient infrastructure, the country demonstrates that economic influence increasingly depends not on size, but on the ability to connect people, markets and critical systems.
The language of international politics is changing. As security, resilience, technological sovereignty and geopolitical competition dominate public debate, this Signal explores where human rights fit within the evolving architecture of the twenty-first century.