EU technology-specific industrial policy. The case of 5G and 6G.

The paper considers how 5G and 6G technologies fit within the broader context of EU industrial policies. It highlights that policies targeting 5G and 6G represent an interesting instantiation of a (relatively) novel and under researched type of EU industrial policy, which we describe as a “technology-specific” industrial policy. This approach, that departs from the traditional dichotomy between horizontal and vertical policies, has some desirable features that we highlight, but also raises some challenges. We focus on the key role these policies may play in drawing attention on demand and adoption patterns, especially if the implications of the GPT features of 5G and 6G are explicitly taken into account. The analysis suggests that much more emphasis should be given to demand-side innovation policies along with standard policies directed at final demand, to improving the vertical governance of EU policies so as to fully capture the technological opportunities key technologies open up and to the explicit consideration of the trade-offs behind the concrete implementation of this sort of policies.