2019年似成為歐盟產業政策分水嶺:德、法先後發布「德國產業戰略2030」與「歐盟產業政策宣言」,歐洲議會通過外人投資審查機制。部分領導人深受「破壞性創新」影響,積極防範中國大陸於全球分工體系後來居上的獨占力。基於公共利益與國家安全,調整全球分工並整併重要部件產製倡議,雖與傳統競爭思維牴觸,但新冠疫情凸顯公衛產業匱乏似更強化其論述。在執委會堅定支持,以及WTO改革、歐美政策協調、歐中投資協議各界反應等皆不如預期下,或將成為不以單純成本效益決定的次佳政策。預期歐盟會就新產業政策凝聚共識,並在國家本位之間求取平衡。
February 2019 was a watershed for EU industrial policy thanks to the "Franco-German Manifesto for a European Industrial Policy" and the EU Framework for FDI Screening. This paper reviews the relevant theories, history of EU-level industrial policy and recent comments on the above activities. We argue that "destructive innovation" rather than conventional industrial theory has had great impact on the decisions of EU Member States. That is, a strategy combining new technologies and components improves the price-performance ratio and allows firms in developing economies to catch up and compete with the products of advanced economies. In addition to commenting on nationalism, the EU DG Competition also critiques the Franco-German proposal as violating the policy tradition. However, the new EU-level industrial policy would surpass simple cost-benefit considerations if the WTO reform, EU-US relations, and EU-China bilateral negotiations are unsuccessful in the next few years.