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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 5h

In line w Aghion’s message:
“𝗜𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆. 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲, 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗔𝗜, 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵.” Amen

escapeforward.substack.com/p/the-new-ge...

The New Geoeconomics of Hard Power Requires New Tools. Will Europe Update?

This piece originates from a request by ProMarket to contribute to a forthcoming online symposium on the question: “Does a Globalized Economy Require Big Business?”.

escapeforward.substack.com

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 1d

@cepr.org @tomvalletti.bsky.social

Recording and transcript on event page: cepr.org/events/ai-acqu…

https://cepr.org/events/ai-acqu…

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 1d

✅ Historically overinvestment cycles led to big trusts formed to coordinate price, collectively foreclose competition
❌ Don’t know where this is going but big competition risks, essential to keep “wholesale access” to foundation layer open

...and don’t buy “AI is different” shallow narratives!
3/

models.mm

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 1d

Consensus that
✅ Foundation layer is extraordinarily dynamic & competitive today
✅ But Big Tech Usual Suspects are very strong, involved in myriad core investment & partnerships
✅ Desperately need to find ways to monetize
✅ Overinvestment bubble likely to burst soon
2/

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 1d

Rich discussion of AI #acquihires (when are they a problem, what shld antitrust do?) turned into broader debate on “do we have a competition problem w Al & what is it?”

Fireside w J Kanter, fab panel @florianederer.bsky.social @igorletina.bsky.social @lugaricano.bsky.social I Marinescu, H Zenger 1/

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 11d

Learned something new! 👍

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 12d

Did it! Hope it worked

Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 12d

Will do!!

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 12d

Haha don’t known how…

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 12d

Registration link here cepr.org/events/ai-ac...

cepr.org

Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 12d

Join us next Wednesday for a fireside w Jonathan Kanter and a super panel on AI Acquihires. Details below!

@cepr.org

Centre for Economic Policy Research @cepr.org · 12d

Change of format! Join us for a fireside w/ Jonathan Kanter moderated by @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social followed by an open panel discussion w/ @lugaricano.bsky.social @imarinescu.bsky.social @igorletina.bsky.social & Hans Zenger moderated by @florianederer.bsky.social.
#EconSky

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 12d

“Small ball”: “a strategy for progressing towards a goal by proceeding in small steps or by addressing small matters” (Webster defn)

We can either persist w the incantation that weak regulation/antitrust alone will deliver us choice & economic agency, or redirect to something else. Infrastructure.

Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 12d

When it comes to reckoning with US tech giants, European antitrust and digital regulation have been exposed as ‘small ball,’ writes @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social. The obstacles are formidable, but to secure its future Europe has no alternative but to build its own technologies, she says.

For Digital Competition, Antitrust and Regulation are ‘Small Ball.’ What Matters is Infrastructure. | TechPolicy.Press

The obstacles are formidable, but Europe has no alternative but to build its own technologies, writes Cristina Caffarra.

www.techpolicy.press

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 21d

Am neither but agree on the sentiment. Regulators don’t self flagellate at all btw, as long as corporates suck up to them. But yeah, industry needs to stop complaining and move.

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 21d

No alas. The prophecy has been fulfilled. It’s all a ‘side dish’ now. Go build please.
escapeforward.substack.com/p/antitrust-...

Antitrust (and Regulation) are “Small Ball”: What Matters is Build Infrastructure

“Small ball”: a strategy for progressing towards a goal by proceeding in small steps or by addressing small matters.

escapeforward.substack.com

Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · 22d

Let’s get everyone upset in the European Antitrust Bubble.

We had massive political consensus behind digital antitrust and regulation for 15 years and we have not achieved a bean.

Just stop the magical thinking.

open.substack.com/pub/escapefo...

Antitrust (and Regulation) are “Small Ball”: What Matters is Build Infrastructure

“Small ball”: a strategy for progressing towards a goal by proceeding in small steps or by addressing small matters.

open.substack.com

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Aug 30

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Aug 30

Nearly a year pushing #EuroStack, #DigitalSovereignty makes it to Franco-German Economic Agenda.

Chest-puffing fake-belligerence on digital regulation will not build us an #infrastructure.

Hope this is more than “hundred millions for meetings”. Digital is a critical industry like energy & defence

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Aug 26

Soooo. Digital regulation isn’t over, is it? Europeans rejoicing “yay us! No concessions on digital in trade negotiations! Enforcement will be back after the summer break!” Our lack of comprehension of what’s going on is truly astounding.

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Aug 13

Oh I totally agree. Burying head in the sand is what I am calling out…

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Aug 12

Oh true. European tech largely has itself to blame for being marginalised. Many companies are dinosaurs whingeing endlessly its customers’ fault for not buying their products. Not that their products often suck. So not all the fault of institutions. Much of industry is super inert. Compound effect.

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Aug 12

Europeans are way better than our elites. And no one says these things straight, all at once.

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Aug 12

Thoughts on Europe’s predicament. The tariff debacle is bad as submissions go, but we’re fighting trade wars on two fronts: China’s Second Shock is on us. Yet European elites are in denial & we lack policy responses at every level @sandertordoir.bsky.social

cristinacaffarra.blog/2025/08/12/t...

Trump’s Power Move Exposes Europe’s Decades of Policy Vacuum Across Trade, Industrial Strategy, Tech and Competition too

Here we are: very nearly a year after the Draghi Report thudded into Europe’s inboxes, both as a wake-up call and a roadmap But since then Europe has sunk deeper into self-loathing, impotence and a…

cristinacaffarra.blog

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Jul 19

Chicken and egg. Vicious circle. Why am I talking to the EC on Teams? Happy to discuss but not on here, diminishing returns….

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Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Jul 19

Happy to. VCs have an agenda of their own though. Exit. And startups are not the whole scene. We have a completely hollowed out middle stack which either is just US or not. We need both. Building European tech just on non European infrastructure is a problem. Need both. I am not anti us tech.

Cristina Caffarra @cristinacaffarra.bsky.social · Jul 18

Okay. Not giving up though.

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