The largest tech CEOs in Europe have established a lobbying group aimed at engaging with von der Leyen.

      **TL;DR:** Seven of Europe's largest tech firms have established a permanent lobbying group called the European Tech Creators, gaining direct access to Commission President von der Leyen. They are advocating for quicker deregulation, more accessible mergers, and the finalization of a single market. However, this setup has faced criticism regarding the closeness of corporations to policy decisions.

      Seven major technology companies in Europe have initiated a continuous dialogue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging the EU to expedite deregulation and allow for consolidation among European companies. This coalition, known as the European Tech Creators, has a combined annual revenue of €417 billion, a market capitalisation of nearly €1.1 trillion, and employs close to one million people globally.

      ASML's CEO Christophe Fouquet expressed to reporters in Brussels on Monday, "It’s better to implement the correct policies from the start rather than attempting to simplify complex decisions afterward."

      **Objectives of the Group**

      The message is clear: Europe is regulating itself into irrelevance. Along with Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, outgoing Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm, and Mistral co-founder Arthur Mensch, Fouquet met with von der Leyen to advocate for reduced regulations, streamlined mergers, and the completion of a single market. Ekholm stated, “We have allowed the market to be completely fragmented, providing no company with the scale necessary to compete," reiterating long-standing complaints from the telecom industry that the more than 100 operators in Europe each serve an average of five million customers, compared to 450 million per operator in China.

      **Initial Outcomes**

      The group seems to be achieving its goals. After meeting with von der Leyen in late April, the EU institutions began moving towards a deal on the Digital Omnibus concerning AI, which delays obligations for high-risk AI systems by 16 months and extends a simplified compliance framework to companies with up to 750 employees.

      A provisional agreement reached on May 7 represented the first amendments to the AI Act since its approval in 2024. While Germany had been advocating for lighter regulations independently, the coinciding timing has caught attention.

      **Speed as a Focus**

      Mensch commented, “In AI, developments are incredibly rapid. Our concern is that in two years, we could be too late.” He noted that while the Commission's latest proposals on cloud and AI development were a positive step, they were still too slow. Fouquet has previously cautioned that Europe is “significantly behind” in AI, highlighting that the US purchases 80 percent of the world's most advanced chips.

      **Concerns Over Proximity**

      The arrangement has raised discomfort among some. Von der Leyen’s recent appointment of Siemens chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe as the EU's special envoy for industrial AI sparked criticism from centre-left MEPs and watchdog organizations, which argued that the Commission is too aligned with the companies it oversees. Snabe is reported to hold shares in the US AI firm C3.ai and serves on the board of Temasek Holdings, which has stakes in Amazon, Nvidia, and Alibaba, as noted by Corporate Europe Observatory. The Commission claims there is no conflict of interest due to his role at Siemens, and the position is unpaid.

      Fouquet defended Snabe’s appointment, stating, "The president wanted someone from the industry to contribute, and that individual chose to assist." He added, “The response to that decision should not be accusations of conflict of interest.”

      **Implications for Europe**

      The structure of the European Tech Creators, a consistent group of CEOs with regular access to the Commission president, resembles the government-industry relationships they admire in Washington and Beijing. Airbus CEO Faury plainly stated, “If this is a lobbying endeavor, it's for a successful Europe.”

      The effectiveness of Europe's current deregulation efforts, whether they lead to true competitiveness or merely lighter regulation for its largest entities, will rely on the policies the group influences and those it targets for elimination. The Commission has also released draft revised merger guidelines, marking the most significant reform in two decades, potentially facilitating consolidation among European businesses.