Jean Jacques Servan-Schreiber’s “The American Challenge” (1967) sounded an alarm on Europe’s innovation gap with the United States. Half a century later, the US, and now China, are still clearly ahead of Europe on the technological frontier of Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, and space exploration, and enjoy the lion’s share of superstar firms and start-ups. Meanwhile, Europe’s has a growing share of zombie companies struggling to cover the cost of capital, stifling efficient businesses and start-ups. At the same time, the waves of scandal engulfing superstar firms undermine trust and challenge the legitimacy of the governance of these businesses. This panel addresses what policymakers can do to make Europe more competitive in the innovation race, while dealing with trust deficits and legitimacy gaps.