Recently, energy prices have once again come to the forefront of European public opinion.
The rising diesel prices first hit the transportation industry. Every fluctuation in oil prices is transmitted along the industrial chain and penetrates into every link of production and manufacturing.
The heating season is approaching. When I was chatting with local residents in Belgium, an old man shook his head and smiled bitterly: Local residences mostly rely on natural gas for household heating. This year's energy bill is not low already, and I am afraid it will be even more expensive next year.
Connected to the production costs of industrial enterprises and the living costs of ordinary families, energy prices have hit the soft underbelly of the European economy.
Preliminary data released by Eurostat on October 2 showed that the euro zone inflation rate rose to 3.8% in September 2026, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from 3.2% in August. Among them, energy prices rose by 18.8% year-on-year, and the increase further expanded from August, which was the main driver of rising inflation.
Energy costs are only one side of the competitiveness dilemma. What worries Europe even more is the inability to transform innovation momentum.
There is a proposition that has troubled Europe for many years: Europe has no shortage of top laboratories and original technologies, but why does innovation always obtain more abundant capital and broader application scenarios in other markets?
Some European media pointed out that the lack of willingness to invest in venture capital, the existing barriers to the unified market, the lag in the adaptation of regulatory rules, and the continued high operating costs have hindered the growth of European industries.
The short-term pain points have not yet been alleviated, and the long-term root causes are difficult to cure quickly. The "time difference" between internal and external rhythms has made the EU's anxiety more prominent.
To reduce energy costs, we need to adjust the energy structure, to open up the capital market we need to promote regulatory reforms, and to optimize the innovation ecosystem we need to break down institutional barriers. These structural adjustments all need to be advanced over the years, but global industrial competition will not stop and wait. This dislocation of internal and external growth rates can better explain why Europe is increasingly anxious about "can't wait" than simple trade deficit data.
In this context, the EU has mistaken trade tools as a prescription to relieve anxiety. As a result, the EU has successively advanced follow-up arrangements for electric vehicle tariffs, launched a review of foreign subsidies in the field of medical devices, and is considering expanding the scope of application of import safeguard measures. At the same time, a kind of policy logic that puts the cart before the horse has formed: It seems easier to set up roadblocks for others than to speed up oneself.
But, is this really the case? On the surface, setting deadlines, initiating investigations, and adding thresholds are much faster than reducing the energy cost of a factory and cultivating a leading technology company. The former can quickly release the political signal that "Europe is taking action" and respond to the pressure of internal public opinion; the latter may take several years to see results.
In fact, Europe is not blind to its own crux. Energy, investment, innovation, unified market, industrial competitiveness... these issues have repeatedly appeared on the Brussels agenda. It is precisely because of the thorough understanding and the deep knowledge that deep reforms involve wide interests and are difficult to advance that they push forward the anxiety of “can’t wait” and choose a seemingly simple but costly trade tool.
Slowing down your opponent doesn't mean you can speed up yourself. Trade tools can buy buffer time and provide short-term protection for local industries, but they cannot exchange for lower energy costs, more dynamic capital markets, and faster innovation transformation.
For the EU, turning a blind eye to its own thorny structural problems will only lead to an even more thorny tomorrow.
