Europe’s future depends less on finding new ways to constrain China than on fixing the limitations Chinese competition has exposed
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenSebastian Contin Trillo-FigueroaSebastian Contin Trillo-Figueroa is a geopolitics analyst with a specialisation in EU-Asia relations. Published: 8:30pm, 28 Jun 2026Generals losing a war examine the enemy, battlefield and their own forces. Brussels prefers a different sequence, ordering new weapons first and worrying about the diagnosis later. That instinct was on display at the recent European Council meeting.
The search for the next instrument has become an alibi to avoid more uncomfortable conclusions. Europe keeps looking for a China solution to Europe’s malaise. It treats a competitiveness problem as a trade problem, an industrial problem as a regulatory one, and a technology gap as an external threat. Every new mechanism promises leverage over Beijing while diverting attention from weaknesses born at home.
