Philips CEO Van Houten: The Netherlands falls off competitive lists | Financial

Although the Netherlands is high on the list of competitive powerhouses, it scores less strongly on those areas that are important for our future, such as investments in artificial intelligence and ICT adoption, the Philips CEO noted. Sectors in which the Netherlands is traditionally strong, such as transport and distribution, are now losing economic significance. “That engine is starting to falter,” said Van Houten about Nederland Distributieland.

Instead, the Netherlands should invest in innovation clusters, such as Brainport Eindhoven, the main companies of which now represent a value of € 230 billion. Such clusters should also emerge in agri-food, the medical sector and cloud technology. “If we can realize five or six successful ecosystems in the Netherlands, our future prosperity is a lot more certain,” said Van Houten.

Criticism of Brussels

The Philips CEO also called for more attention to education and retraining, investment in infrastructure and maintenance of flexible labor market rules, but with support for people who lose their jobs.

Van Houten swept European competition policy out of the pan, because it would put companies at a disadvantage compared to competitors from America and China, where national champions are encouraged.

Competition policy makes it difficult for companies to consolidate in Europe, “because the aim is to maximize competition within every country in Europe, in the best interest of consumers.” “We should not only look at the competitive relationships of European companies within Europe, but precisely how strong they are on the world stage.”

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