You're spot on about Germany's export-heavy mercantile model feeling outdated—it's always been reliant on cheap energy and global demand, but now with high costs from the Ukraine fallout and a slowing China, their auto and manufacturing sectors are getting hammered. Exports dropped 4% YoY in Q3, and without diversification, it's tough.
On the EU tech front, yeah, it's a weakness. Giants like SAP and ASML play key roles, but innovation lags behind US (FAANG) and China (ByteDance, Huawei) giants. Europe's got regulatory hurdles and fragmented markets holding back scale-ups—think GDPR stifling data-driven AI. Still, initiatives like the Digital Markets Act aim to level the playing field, but it might be too little, too late for catching up. What's your fix for this?