Can the European Union reconcile its commitment to a strict competition policy with the need to enhance and defend Europe’s global expertise in key industrial sectors? This contentious issue has cropped up again this week following the European Commission’s decision to allow South Korea’s STX shipbuilding group to take a controlling interest in Aker Yards.

The Koreans invited themselves into the Norwegian shipbuilder – one of the world’s largest – last October when they picked up a 39.2 per cent stake in Aker Yards for $800m. Europe’s other big shipbuilders were appalled and so were their governments, in particular the French, the Italians and the Finns. They formed a coalition of interest to try to block the Koreans, arguing the deal would give STX a bridgehead into one of the remaining shipbuilding sectors where Europe still dominates – the construction of giant cruise ships and ferries.