European leaders have spent the week talking about how to make the EU more competitive — first with industry heavyweights in Antwerp, then behind closed doors at a leaders’ retreat in Belgium.

On this episode of EU Confidential, host Sarah Wheaton digs into what’s really behind the latest push to revive Europe’s economy. Are calls for deregulation and lower energy costs a genuine course correction — or another round of diagnosis without delivery?

POLITICO’s Zia Weise, fresh from the industry summit in Antwerp, joins the discussion on how chemical giants and other industrial players are pressing for relief from climate and energy rules. Marianne Gros examines the backlash over Brussels’ simplification drive and growing concerns about transparency and democratic safeguards. And Carlo Martuscelli breaks down the political fault lines exposed at the Alden Biesen retreat — and why so much of Mario Draghi’s reform agenda remains stalled.

Plus, Aitor Hernández-Morales joins us with the latest on political developments in Portugal.