Draghi’s report on the future of EU Competitiveness is praised by EPP, but criticized by the Left

Achieving the strategic and climate goals that Europe has set would require between 750 and 800 billion euros of investment per year, sums that have not been this high since the Marshall Plan. 

That’s what has emerged following former Italian Prime Minister and former ECB president Mario Draghi‘s speech about his report on the future of European competitiveness, presented at the European parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 17th of September.

“Last week I have delivered this document to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen – Draghi stated – my task was to draft a diagnosis of the situation, but it will be up to you, the elected representatives, to translate these recommendations into concrete actions”. 

What emerges from Draghi’s report is a detailed picture of a Europe that is facing many challenges, including decarbonization and at the same time the creation of “green” workplaces, but also the need for investment in the Union’s start-ups and in technology (a sector where there is too wide a gap with the U.S. and CHINA) and economic security and independence. 

“This is not only a report on competitiveness, but also on the future of Europe, and a key role will be played by the investments we will be able to make,” Draghi added. 

While all the parliamentarians present in the hemicycle have recognized the authority of Mario Draghi’s figure, it was mainly the EPP group that praised the report on the future of European competitiveness. 

“Draghi’s one is a clear and precise analysis of how innovation, energy prices and the Internal Market must be our priorities in the upcoming years,” commented the EPP President Manfred Weber. “For a long time now, our group has set competitiveness as one of Europe’s goals: we need more funding and less red tape”. 

Also Gabrielle Bischoff from the S&D has welcomed the report’s outcome: “we have a huge challenge ahead of us, that is the digital, social and economic transition. The evolution of the Internal Market will lay the foundations for Europe’s future”; followed by Morten Løkkeggard from Renew Europe: “the report’s conclusion shows us that we need to change course: the time has come for leaner markets and the Union’s decisions will have to go hand in hand with a green and social transition.” 

Less positive feedback from Patriots for Europe and European Conservatives and Reformists, who point the finger at the EU’s past choices. 

“Draghi draws devastating conclusions for European competitiveness: but what was the point of investing billions of euros in this sector then? The report is also a confirmation of what the Rassemblement National has been saying for years: there is a defense of nuclear power as a key element and a denunciation of too much bureaucracy” comments Jean-Paul Garraud (PfE). 

From ECR, however, Nicola Procaccini reiterates that the loss of competitiveness in the EU was abrupt but not unexpected: “Mario Draghi’s report is right, but it arrives too late. What we see today are the fruits of the leftist government of the past legislature and of radical and short-sighted measures for the future of Europe.” 

Among the most critical, eventually, Manon Aubry arises (the Left). “There is a high level of contradiction in the report: how can we talk about reviving industrial policy without mentioning the break with free trade that creates unfair competition? We are asked for more investment, but no one is questioning the budget rules that do not allow us to invest in public services. At the helm of this report there is only one master: multinational corporations”. 

Among the main points shared by the Left and the Green groups, there is also the need for investment in decarbonization, to protect both the environment and workplaces.