Strategic autonomy is discussed at the level of visible inputs — chips, energy, critical minerals. The dependencies that actually constrain European industrial output are less photogenic.
Certification and testing capacity is one. A plant can secure materials and still wait months for accredited testing. Tooling is another: the die and mould base that supports European manufacturing is ageing, and replacement capability is concentrated in a small number of firms.
Specialist labour is the third. Metallurgists, calibration engineers and process specialists cannot be procured on a quarterly cycle, and their retirement profile is well documented.
None of these is solved by subsidy alone. They are solved by long procurement commitments that make capacity investment rational — which is a political question as much as an industrial one.