The return of industrial policy in the European Union

Industrial policy, once considered a relic of postwar state-led development strategies, has returned to the center of global debates. In advanced economies, the neoliberal paradigm that dominated from the 1980s onwards delegitimized selective state intervention. Today, however, shifting geopolitical, technological, and environmental conditions have revived industrial policy as a strategic tool of economic power. Major economies such as the United States and China are using it explicitly to foster technological sovereignty, attract investment, and secure global market positions, while emerging economies also experiment with similar approaches. Against this backdrop, the European Union faces a dual challenge: avoiding strategic marginalization in the global arena while reconciling new industrial ambitions with the institutional and normative principles that underpin European integration. This symposium examines three central questions: what goals and priorities industrial policy should pursue; which instruments are available under EU fiscal, legal, and competition constraints; and which values and political identities it ultimately reflects. The contributions highlight both opportunities and tensions in the EU’s turn to industrial policy, suggesting that it constitutes not only a crisis-driven response but also a potential redefinition of the EU’s long-term development model and political identity.