> but its fragmentation makes it harder for the continent to gather the capital and the consumers to make it possible for big tech companies to be created and thrive
Compared to what? Europe isn't as fragmented as it used to be, and that it isn't possible to create big tech companies actually sound like a benefit to me, I don't want that. I personally prefer smaller companies, even if they don't take over the world, and it's a fairly popular sentiment at least around me in south-west Europe.
> I personally prefer smaller companies, even if they don't take over the world
Me too, but Europe should be able to compete and provide alternatives to Big Tech which requires bigger scale companies to also exist. I think it's in Europe's best interest to be able to compete in this global market and become a technological leader. It's about relevancy but also potentially about European security.
Isn't it basically like saying we need to compete with ugliest totalitarian states as their cutting edge mass manipulation and torture methods give them the most efficient tools against terrorists which threaten the stability of the regime that official statistics show as 102.7% approved by its citizens?
It's about what the article says: "to counter disinformation, protect democratic integrity, preserve cultural diversity, and reclaim control from US corporate and geopolitical interests".
Compared with the United States, with Google, Amazon, Meta, etc.; and with China, with Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, Ping An, etc.
Bigger companies have better economies and scale and can develop better tech…