Ericsson and Nokia put the screws on EU's new commissionersEricsson and Nokia put the screws on EU's new commissioners

They are hosting an event in Brussels called the New Industrial Ambition for Europe summit, a name that bears all the nuance and subtlety of an elephant on steroids wielding a jackhammer.

Ericsson and Nokia's respective CEOs Börje Ekholm (pictured above left) and Pekka Lundmark (pictured above right) are in attendance, and they have been joined by Henna Virkkunen, who in November was confirmed as the European Commission's new executive vice president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

This half-day summit is supported by software giant SAP, which has sent along its CEO Christian Klein, and supposedly semiconductor supplier ASML, which seems to be entirely absent from the agenda and the list of participants and event partners.

The stage has literally been set then for Ericsson and Nokia to highlight the widening investment and productivity gap between Europe and its global peers like the US and China, and to convince Virkkunen that the path to EU revitalisation lies in implementing the recommendations laid out in both the Letta and Draghi reports.

In his report on the state of the EU Single Market, former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta called for accelerated investment in several sectors, including high-speed connectivity and technology.

Also a former Italian PM, Mario Draghi's recommendations include favouring ex post M&A regulation over ex ante, and adopting harmonised rules regarding spectrum allocation, cybersecurity, lawful intercept and consolidation.

This, claims Draghi, will create the conditions necessary to facilitate the emergence of pan-European super telcos with the financial clout to pour billions upon billions of euros into the cutting edge digital infrastructure that will enable Europe to reclaim its position in the global economy.

Ericsson and Nokia might want to consider the notion that having fewer telcos to sell to won't necessarily end the boom-and-bust capex cycle to which they are beholden. Telcos are unlikely to shell out for new network infrastructure in perpetuity just because they can afford to.

It's also worth stressing at this point that Europe enjoys broad 5G and fibre coverage that compares very favourably with the US, and is available at much lower prices, thanks to the effects of competition and the regulations that support it.

Indeed, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (Ecta), which represents challenger brands, this week sent a delegation to put its point across to Teresa Ribera, newly-appointed EVP for Competition and a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.

Ecta's representatives emphasised that a diversified electronic communications sector, embracing a multitude of participants large and small – and nurturing a diverse array of products and services – is essential to empowering the European economy and unleashing its innovative potential.

Meanwhile, back on Ericsson and Nokia's soapbox, they also called for the EU to push member states to get on and fully implement the 5G Security Toolbox, safeguarding networks from high-risk (Chinese) vendors, and keeping them firmly out of Ericsson and Nokia's collective back yard.

The summit isn't just concerned with the state of European telecoms either, it also sounds the alarm over R&D. Ericsson and Nokia cite a McKinsey report that claims US companies invest 60% more in R&D, and that R&D spending in 2023 by seven US tech firms was equal to 50% of R&D spending by Europe's entire public and private sectors.

As with the telecom sector, Ericsson and Nokia argue that regulatory reforms are what's needed to get the EU back on track.

"The unique coming together of four technology leaders highlights the urgency facing Europe's economy to decision makers in Member States. Companies like Ericsson already invest disproportionally more in R&D in Europe. If other regions continue to race ahead this model cannot survive," said Ericsson CEO Ekholm. "Those regions are embracing opportunity through investment, policy, and regulatory support. Europe is not. Yet the solution is well known. The EU must implement the Draghi and Letta report recommendations to enable the technology sector to play our part in delivering future European prosperity."

Nokia CEO Lundmark said: "European competitiveness already has one foot in the morgue. Our real GDP is 30 percent less than the US's, the EU's share of the Fortune Global 500 is still falling and our digital future looks less certain than ever. The good news is that we can still turn this tanker around. Europe must create an environment in which businesses want to invest, especially on technologies such as AI, cloud and advanced connectivity. This cannot be a decade-long endeavour. Europe must act right now on issues like the 5G Toolbox and telco mergers. If Europe gets this right, it's a massive opportunity. Draghi and Letta already provided the framework. So, let's act.

"Irrespective of whether these proposed reforms are truly in the interests of European citizens or a handful of deep-pocketed industrial giants, it's unusual to see two arch rivals take the same stage to shine a spotlight on their concerns. This is shaping up to be a baptism of fire for the EU president Ursula von der Leyen's new appointees.