Abstract This contribution explores the Visegrad four's (V4) responses to the revival of industrial policy in the European Union (EU). To a region so highly industrialised, and so dependent on foreign firms, this revival brings mixed blessings. Industrial policy focused on ‘European champions’ is driving investment towards core regions and firms, possibly at the expense of the peripheries. At the same time, emphasis on European value creation and production networks could open new opportunities for the region's sputtering growth model. In analysing the V4 policy‐makers' response to two instruments – Important Projects of Common European Interest and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening – we find that they are keenly aware of both threats and opportunities created by the EU‐level industrial policy, but that few take steps to actively shape these instruments. If they do, they typically push them back towards traditional liberal market principles. We argue that, despite a powerful rhetorical pivot towards ‘open strategic autonomy’, EU industrial policy remains constrained not only by remnants of ideological liberalism but also by the fact that many smaller members see little opportunity in the more proactive supranational industrial policies and prefer to cleave to the liberal status quo at the EU level – even when domestically they embrace very different principles.

Abstract This article analyses the strategic management of European Union (EU) references in Serbia's 2024–2025 student mobilisation. Drawing on original fieldwork and 18 semi‐structured interviews, the article integrates framing theory with the Discourse‐Historical Approach to reconstruct how EU‐related meanings were produced and operationalised. The analysis shows that EU symbolism was strategically withheld in domestic protest spaces as boundary work: avoiding overt EU cues reduced exposure to accusations of foreign orchestration and helped maintain participation across an ideologically heterogeneous coalition. At the same time, Europe remained available as a moral register and a language of standards, whilst the EU, as an institutional actor, was evaluated sceptically through frames of hypocrisy, unequal recognition and instrumentalisation and treated as a politically costly reference point. By treating EU‐related symbols and references as objects of strategic regulation, the article contributes a ‘from below’ account of how EU legitimacy is interpreted in Serbia's contested authority landscape.

Abstract In 2024, the EU adopted a much‐debated directive on improving working conditions in platform work, which aims to facilitate the correct classification of people performing platform work and regulates the use of algorithmic management. The initiative attracted intense lobbying from digital platforms and trade unions, whilst dividing the member states into sharply opposed camps. In a historic moment, a last‐minute deal was passed – without support from either France or Germany. The directive sets a marked step towards regulating the ‘future of work’, pursuing a worker‐protective rationale that serves both as a complement and a contrast to earlier market‐making interventions into the digital economy. Building critically on existing theories of EU regulation, I use this case to explore how the uncertainty associated with new socio‐economic problems creates an ‘ambiguous tolerance’ amongst member states for supranational guidance, which is leveraged by the Commission in its agenda‐setting capacity, whilst limiting the influence of organised interests. Based on policy documentation, 32 interviews and secondary sources, this article reconstructs how EU policy‐makers – veering between technocratic problem‐solving and (partisan) politicisation – managed to prepare, negotiate and enact this innovative piece of legislation.

Abstract The emergence of novel cleavages in European politics has led to the development of political competition based on a two‐dimensional model. Despite acting as mediators between the different cleavages represented by their national party members, Europarties remain largely overlooked in the study of cleavage politics. By interpreting the manifestos presented by Europarties for the 2024 European Parliament elections through discourse analysis, this study investigates the interplay between the two dimensions of political competition at the supranational level. In doing so, the article contributes to the literature on political cleavages at the European level by offering a preliminary empirical perspective on Europarties' intermediary role in EU party politics. The findings highlight the intertwined and interdependent relationship between the two dimensions of political competition at the European level, unveiling how the discourse of the Europarties simultaneously integrates Rokkanean and novel cleavages whilst navigating national diversity and projecting supranational programmatic coherence.

Abstract This study examines the European Union (EU)'s enlargement policy and its evaluation process, focusing on Turkey's accession journey. It aims to understand how the EU's evaluations change in response to candidate states' domestic political dynamics. Using a novel quantitative approach, a text as data method, this study analyses the European Commission's annual country reports on Turkey from 1998 to 2023. Specifically, it employs keyword‐assisted topic models and latent semantic scaling to explore changes in EU evaluations over time. Turkey's case is significant due to its long‐standing candidacy, complex relationship with the EU and shifting domestic politics. By analysing extensive textual data, this study addresses the limitations of previous research and presents a methodological framework applicable to other candidate states. The findings offer new insights into EU evaluation criteria and EU–Turkey relations, potentially informing future EU enlargement policies and relations with candidate states.

ABSTRACT Recognition in global politics is not only earned through institutions or capabilities; it is narrated into being. This article investigates how the European Union (EU) is framed as a technological actor in global discourse, focusing on the symbolic dynamics of discursive recognition. Defined as a performative process through which legitimacy and agency are constructed in elite narratives, recognition is examined here through a mixed‐methods analysis of 148 Foreign Policy articles from January 2010 to March 2025. The paper introduces a two‐dimensional typology that maps how the EU is positioned along axes of regulatory authority and innovation capability. Findings indicate a significant shift in narrative patterns: early portrayals emphasised the EU's regulatory dominance but highlighted its technological shortfalls, whilst more recent discourse presents regulation as a competitive advantage and acknowledges the EU's growing presence in emerging tech domains. Although the EU is not yet fully recognised as a technological superpower, its symbolic profile has become increasingly multifaceted and contested. The analysis underscores how, in fragmented governance environments, power is exercised not only through policies and platforms, but through stories that travel, making recognition a vital, relational resource in shaping global technological influence.

Thirty years ago, the European single market was built on a simple but powerful idea: economic integration among EU countries would drive internal prosperity and political unity while also supporting global openness. Today, that idea is being tested. Faced with intensifying global competition, geopolitical fragmentation and technological shifts, the EU is rethinking its economic approach. In 2024, two landmark reports – Enrico Letta’s Much More Than a Market and Mario Draghi’s The Future of European Competitiveness – laid out distinct yet complementary visions for the future of European economic governance. These reports not only diagnose the structural weaknesses of the EU economy but also propose a roadmap for ensuring Europe’s long-term competitiveness in an increasingly uncertain global order. Despite their different emphases, both reports converge on a crucial point: the EU has reached a turning point and requires a fundamental recalibration of its economic model. Over the past three decades, EU policy has primarily focused on internal competitiveness – removing barriers within the bloc and ensuring a level playing field among member states. Now, both reports signal a decisive shift toward external competitiveness. In other words, the priority is no longer just deepening the internal market but positioning the EU more effectively in global economic competition. This shift entails a more strategic approach to economic governance, including targeted industrial policies, strengthened financial instruments and, in some cases, a reconsideration of trade openness.