The fund should focus on acquiring long-term equity in “European-based companies in strategically important areas”.
Editor’s note: This article is from Tencent Technology.
According to foreign media reports, the EU is considering launching a 100 billion euro sovereign wealth fund to fund European technology giants and confront global technology giants such as Apple, Google and Alibaba Group.
The internal documents obtained by the Financial Times show that EU civil servants have drafted a “European Future Fund” plan funded by member states, which is responsible for strategic areas in which Europe lags behind global competitors. Make an investment.
The program is part of a brainstorming plan proposed by EU officials to the upcoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Von Delane will implement these initiatives during his five-year term.
The initiative to create a sovereign wealth fund will be the EU’s most daring response to France and Germany’s call for Europe to develop aggressive industrial policy instruments that protect European companies from unfair competition.
The document warns that non-EU companies “have unprecedented financial means and may obliterate the existing innovation power and industrial status of the EU industry in certain areas.” The EU refers to the US “GAFA” in this document ( Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, and Chinese technology companies, said the companies have been buying potential competitors and are now “controlling the global digital industry.” “There is no such company in Europe,” the document said. “This poses risks to growth, employment and Europe’s influence in key strategic areas.”
Von Delane will be on the 1st of November. She promised to lead the EU “investing in innovation and research, reshaping the economy, and renewing industrial policies.”
The draft said that the fund should focus on acquiring long-term equity in “European-based companies in strategically important areas.” Its investment focus should be on “development strategy areas” and “innovation leaders who build and strengthen the future”.
Although France and Germany may support such a plan, governments such as the Netherlands have been reluctant to support the EU to relax competition rules, allowing mergers or “choosing winners” in competition with global competitors.
EU officials hope to establish a central fund with strong financial resources that can encourage private sector funds to “crowd in” projects. 100 billion euros will depend on obtaining funds from EU member states. This document shows that the next EU long-term budget can allocate special funds for the fund.
EU officials said, “EuropeThe Future Fund is not part of the official policy plan of the incoming committee. “The draft internal brainstorming document should not be confused with policy,” the EU spokesperson said.