Leading up to the Franco-German government consultations, French Nobel laureate in Economics, Jean Tirole, has urged Europe to pursue robust reforms and adopt a steadfast approach in its trade dispute with the United States. In an interview, Tirole emphasized the necessity of defending European values and bolstering resilience.
He drew parallels to the post-war era of the 1950s, recalling a prevailing sense of optimism and the belief that peace and growth could generate substantial benefits. Tirole expressed concern that a zero-sum mentality now dominates, with political leaders within the EU seemingly focused on shifting resources from one member state to another to secure domestic electoral gains. He asserted that decisive governance and reform are essential, or Europe risks facing significant consequences.
Tirole also called for a clear strategy in the ongoing trade conflicts with the US, referencing recent calls from Washington for the EU to suspend its Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA). He warned against yielding to external pressure, arguing that acquiescence could open the door to further intervention in European policy areas. “If we allow interference now, what guarantee do we have that we won’t soon be dictated how to structure our welfare states? We risk becoming a colony of another nation” he stated. Tirole underlined that the regulation of issues like online content moderation, including discussions around “wokeness” falls within Europe’s sovereign domain and is not subject to external dictates.
Furthermore, Tirole advocated for the implementation of expiry dates on data collected by corporations like Palantir, citing concerns about potential misuse by authoritarian regimes for repressive purposes. He suggested that limiting the lifespan of such data could mitigate these risks.
