It took almost two decades to assemble the carefully constructed framework of global financial regulation that emerged from the 2008 financial crisis. Now, as Donald Trump’s administration drives a wrecking ball through those regulations, Europe is also eyeing deregulation as a route to economic growth and the ability to compete with the US in international markets.

Geopolitical tensions have highlighted the bloc’s need to be able to hold its own on the global stage. The question is how. Some