Draghi to EU leaders: ‘No more postponing decisions’

Brussels – He goes back to repeating that yes, “it is essential” to think about forms of “common financing” for the European policy agenda; however, Mario Draghi reiterates, again, that “it is not the first thing.” The decision is, first and foremost, political, and it’s about what needs to be done. “What Europe can no longer do is postpone decisions” needed to revitalize the European Union in a profoundly changed and increasingly fraught global context. The former Italian prime minister and author of the competitiveness report designed to reinvigorate Europe tries to shake up the heads of state and government meeting in Budapest for the informal summit of leaders. To them, Draghi specifically asks to be leaders.

An even more decisive burst forward is needed now, the former prime minister reasons with the press on the sidelines of the summit proceedings. With Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, “there are big changes ahead,” and that is also why Europe should no longer hesitate or postpone the implementation of ambitious choices. In “all these years,” so many important decisions have been delayed because we were waiting for consensus, Draghi recalls. Instead, he laments, “The consensus did not come: all that came was lower development, lower growth, now stagnation.” So, at this point, “I hope that we will find a united spirit with which we can make the best of these great changes.” Otherwise, Europe will fail. Going in a random direction cannot be an option because “we are too small; we are not going anywhere,” he warns. In particular, if the next US administration goes in a direction contrary to European interests.

Draghi has no doubts: “Donald Trump will give much impetus in innovative sectors and much protection to traditional industries, which are precisely the industries where we export the most to the United States.” It means reshaping trade, economics, and agendas: “We will have to negotiate with the US ally, with a united spirit, in a way that also protects our European producers.”

That is why it can no longer be postponed: This applies to the EU and member states, which, at the common level, define and sign off on agendas and strategies. One above all is security and defense. For Draghi, arriving at a defense spending of 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product, as NATO demands, while respecting the stability pact “is possible.” However, “a whole series of decisions need to be made.” Europe does not have much of a choice. “Today, we must decide what to do because this is the new situation.”