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Mario Draghi’s Verdict: The EU is a Frog Slowly Boiling in the U.S.’s Pot, as Europe’s ‘Golden Age’ Slips Irretrievably into the Past
On 9 September 2024, Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Central Bank, presented his much-anticipated report on the Future of European Competitiveness. The mammoth 400-page document lays out proposals aimed at reviving a stagnant and sluggish EU economy.
Why is Europe’s ‘Golden Age’ now history? According to Draghi, the EU is rapidly losing ground to global powerhouses like the U.S. and China. The report singles out productivity as a critical issue, and it could very well be the key to Europe’s decline.
In a rather surprising admission, Draghi pointed out that Europe “largely missed out on the digital revolution led by the internet,” becoming “stuck” in an outdated industrial structure with lagging productivity. He didn’t mince words either when comparing Europe’s sluggish pace of innovation unfavorably to that of the U.S.
Draghi was also blunt about the EU’s recent economic woes, pinning much of the blame on its decision to cut off Russian energy. “Europe has abruptly lost its most important supplier of energy, Russia,” he noted. But that’s not the only crisis: an ageing population is dragging economic growth down further.
The overall message of Draghi’s report is simple: the EU must transform, and only bold reforms will pull it out of its economic rut. So, what’s the plan to meet these challenges and bolster Europe’s position in a fiercely competitive world? Draghi proposed a ‘new industrial strategy’ built on three pillars.
First: Close the innovation gap with the U.S.
Second: Decarbonisation, aka the green agenda. Draghi, of course, didn’t dare say outright that decarbonisation has been disastrous for old Europe. Instead, he proposed a joint plan to balance decarbonisation and competitiveness.
Third: Increase security and reduce dependencies in critical industries across Europe. This includes bolstering the defense sector because, as Draghi put it, “the search for greater security has now spilled over to defense.”
Criticism of the report was quick to follow, even from Ursula von der Leyen, who commissioned Draghi to write it. But no one seems willing to listen because, let’s face it, the European frog apparently enjoys being boiled by American chefs.
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