Episode Details

The economic downturn of the EU heart-land (Germany, France, Italy) is progressing with an incredible speed. SME's are dying or are being sold off to US and Chinese investors who are after the intellectual property of formerly competitive enterprises. Dr. Stephan Ebner and Rolf Landgraf, two German lawyers working directly with companies that are going through this period join Pascal to discuss this spiral of doom. Drawing on their work advising corporate transactions, they examine bureaucracy, energy costs, succession problems, foreign acquisitions, and the loss of industrial expertise. They debate whether defence production can offset automotive decline, assess Europe’s dependence on the United States, and discuss political paralysis. Despite their concerns, the conversation closes with opportunities in international expansion, vertical farming, and artificial intelligence.Stephan and Rolf's Links:Maclaw: https://maclaw.legalMaclaw team: https://maclaw.legal/t...Rolf Landgraf’s profile: https://www.landgraf-s...Neutrality Studies Links:Neutrality Studies Substack: https://pascallottaz.s...Support Neutrality Studies: https://neutralitystud...Neutrality Studies shop: https://neutralitystud...Time Stamps00:00 Stephan Ebner and Rolf Landgraf: Europe’s business exodus05:54 Energy costs and the pressure to sell11:37 Financialization and the loss of industrial knowledge15:50 From automotive suppliers to defence production22:55 Economic decline and political deadlock across Europe28:38 Brussels, regu