ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Why has it proved so difficult to formulate a common industrial strategy for the European Union (EU)? This chapter suggests that social and economic diversity —treasured by most EU citizens, and for good reasons-has been a major hurdle towards a joint EU industrial strategy. The central argument here is that both within and between EU member states, large core firms tend to adhere to rival visions (‘concepts of control’) on how the industrial, financial, social and political networks around them should be organized. Understanding of these rival visions and the organization of these networks helps to explain the different types of ‘solutions’ firms and their national governments present on the issues of competitiveness, subsidiarity and policy objectives, and the barriers they pose to a common EU industrial strategy.1
