Draghi urges EU Commission: competitiveness roadmap with priorities and policies

Brussels – An “excellent exchange” on the future of the European Union’s economic competitiveness. That’s how European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the “secret seminar” that took place today in Jodoigne, just outside Brussels, between members of the College of Commissioners and former prime minister and ECB President Mario Draghi on the topic of competitiveness. 

“Thank you dear Mario Draghi for today’s excellent exchange with the college on EU competitiveness. We discussed many challenges and policy dimensions. I look forward to your report to help advance the debate on how to strengthen the EU economy,” reported on X (formerly Twitter) the German leader.

Draghi—that recently returned to the centre of the European debate as a possible candidate to lead the European Council to replace Charles Michel—was commissioned in September by von der Leyen to prepare a report on the EU’s economic competitiveness, which is expected to come after the European elections.

According to Italian sources, during the meeting, the former ECB man reportedly highlighted the urgency of defining a broad and detailed roadmap, which clearly identifies “priorities, lines of action and policies to be implemented in different sectors”, which will serve as the basis for proposals in the next legislative term.

Draghi briefly framed the dynamics behind the current scenarios and prospects for European competitiveness. Starting in 2016, he noted, “We have witnessed a series of new and relevant facts for Europe in the most diverse areas, from the election of Donald Trump to the overbearing emergence of the green transition on the agenda of governments and organizations, and the advent, far faster than expected, of artificial intelligence,” he would have stressed to the commissioners. Explaining further that in this context, the European economy has been “progressively weakening, losing momentum and ceding centrality in supply chains, to the benefit of other countries such as the United States and China. The war in Ukraine has only confirmed the fragilities of the Old Continent, not only economically but also in terms of its geopolitical model.”

Hence the need for the development of a roadmap, based on careful data analysis. The former premier has decided to make the drafting of the report as open an exercise as possible, with input from relevant stakeholders, anyone interested in giving input, open to the search for incisive and ambitious solutions. In recent days, Draghi has begun “consultations” with European industry representatives to contribute to the report. First, in Milan it was the turn of managers from Ert (European Roundtable for industry), then in Brussels with a Business Europe delegation led by its president and in the presence of Confindustria president Carlo Bonomi.