This is about Europe reacting to criticism that Ariane 6’s expendable design has left it at a competitive disadvantage compared with reusable rockets like SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The ESA's reusable-rocket tech efforts are still in development though, so the practical chance of a near-term competitive "Franken-Ariane" is modest. Maybe one of Europe's other launch companies might have a better chance?

Honestly, their chances aren’t terrible. Europe has the brains, the money, and the tech already. The main thing missing has been speed and confidence, and this feels like them finally saying “ok fine, let’s actually try.” If they stop over optimizing for safety and committees and just iterate like crazy, this could low-key work...

Retrofitting an existing rocket? What could possibly go wrong