| History is a circle and the 90s are back: Look no further than the gatherings of Europe’s industrialists. Founded in the 1980s, they became a driving force of European integration – things like the single market and the euro were, in part, their ‘invention.’ Successful lobbying by big companies is now history, but one magic word that has reawakened the industrialists is “competitiveness”, or a lack thereof. With systemic issues accumulated like ticks in spring, Europe is many things: a great place to live and a global leader on climate action, but competitive, it is not. The European Central Bank’s Isabel Schnabel summed it up like this: “At the turn of the millennium, the euro area was operating at the global productivity frontier. But in the following years, it fell behind … and has not been able to recover.” An hour worked in the US produces 50% more output than the same hour worked in Italy. For the EU’s biggest countries, that same hour produces 20% less output than in the US. It’s a drastic diagnosis that has EU bigwigs running from event to event in an attempt to understand the issue and how to fix it. “Super Mario” Draghi, erstwhile ECB chief and Italian former premier is currently labouring away at a fix-all report. On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with industrial stakeholders hidden away in an Antwerp chemical plant. | 