The rapid acceleration of globalisation following the collapse of the Soviet Union ensured the economic domination of the United States and the emergence of China as its potential successor as leader of the global economy. On the other hand, we had a Europe which was losing control faced with the globalisation of the 20th century and which must now face the challenges presented by the beginning of the 21st. Faced with these two heavyweights, Europe had to find a way to reinvent itself while juggling the two superpowers –one because it provided military protection and had imposed its currency on international trade, and the other because it was an indispensable trading partner at the other end of the same Eurasian landmass. Of the three major economic blocs, Europe is by far the most dependent on global trade. As a result, where American and Chinese businesses have been able to develop within a vast and homogeneous domestic market, European businesses have had to battle it out to grow outside their country of origin, or even outside the Union itself. This is likely one of the reasons why Europe does not have a major tech giant. Amazon, Google, Tencent and Alibaba have all had access to enormous domestic data markets, whereas Spanish or Belgian companies working in the same sector do not have access to German or Italian data. Linguistic, legislative and cultural differences have made it difficult for European business giants to blossom. In some sectors such as transport, European institutions have historically thought of the emergence of European business giants as a threat to competition. European companies have therefore moved towards exporting, without enjoying the benefits of a strong domestic base on a continental scale.
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