Accumulation Rather Than Transformation

InvestEU and the Neoliberal Architecture of the New EU Industrial Policy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v56i223.2246

Keywords:

Derisking, EU-Industrial Policy, Financial Intermediaries, Green Transition, InvestEU, Neoliberalism

Abstract

In response to geoeconomic tensions and the climate crisis, the EU has adopted a range of industrial policies, widely interpreted in the literature as marking a post-neoliberal turn. We challenge this reading through a critical examination of InvestEU, the central guarantee instrument designed to mobilise private investments by absorbing downside risks. We show that the programme's architecture does not transcend neoliberal logics but deepens them. This not only undermines the stated objectives of a green transformation but exposes a fundamental contradiction at the heart of EU open strategic autonomy.

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Published

2026-05-29

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How to Cite

Accumulation Rather Than Transformation: InvestEU and the Neoliberal Architecture of the New EU Industrial Policy. (2026). PROKLA. Journal of Critical Social Science, 56(223), 313-330. https://doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v56i223.2246