TBH I'm glad it's not sold off. Europe has barely any large world leading companies in the digital sector. ASML is one of those world leaders.
As for your american influence point, I'd certainly prefer if a strong EU council would block the sale instead of our transatlantic partners, but EU council can't even prevent OBOR in central europe...
The article says that ASML keeps selling earlier-generation equipment. Apparently, that can't be reverse-engineered and/or stolen as easily. (Or maybe just buying it is cheaper than going through all that hassle.)
if no one can sell to them, the Chinese market is a moot point.
Sometimes national security interests supersede a single darling companies bottomline. Plus, considering the Chinese track record of stealing technology, if that machine goes to China, ASML wont be the only one making it in a couple years.
As for your american influence point, I'd certainly prefer if a strong EU council would block the sale instead of our transatlantic partners, but EU council can't even prevent OBOR in central europe...