Former ECB President Draghi Warns: "EU Lacks Sense of Crisis Despite Falling Behind US and China"

One-Year Anniversary Conference of "The Future of EU Competitiveness" Report
"EU Must Work and Act Together"

Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank (ECB), has warned that although the European Union (EU) economy is lagging behind the United States and China, national governments are failing to recognize the urgency of the situation.

Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank (ECB). Photo by EPA Yonhap News

On September 16 (local time), at the "One-Year Anniversary of the Draghi Report Conference" held in Brussels, Belgium, Draghi stated that the EU is falling behind in competition with the United States and China, and criticized European countries for "not properly grasping the seriousness of the situation."

Draghi emphasized, "Continuing business as usual means accepting being left behind," and insisted that "a fundamentally different speed, scale, and intensity are required." He added, "Competitors in the United States and China operate with far fewer constraints, even within the bounds of the law, compared to Europe," stressing that "Europe must act together rather than dispersing its efforts." These remarks appear to point to issues such as the EU's uniquely complex decision-making structure, a proliferation of regulations, and sluggish investment attraction.

The event was a conference commemorating the first anniversary of the release of the 330-page "The Future of EU Competitiveness" report, which Draghi published in September last year.

Draghi, who served as ECB President from 2011 to 2019, is a renowned financial and economic expert who was called "Super Mario" and "Eurozone's Relief Pitcher" for preventing the Eurozone's debt crisis during the European financial crisis through bold and large-scale monetary easing policies. In September 2023, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen requested Draghi to prepare an advisory report on strengthening EU competitiveness, and one year later, in September last year, "The Future of EU Competitiveness" report was released.

In this report, Draghi pointed out that the EU's global competitiveness faces an existential risk and stressed the urgent need to completely transform its industrial strategy. He also suggested that astronomical levels of investment are necessary. Since then, the European Commission has been pushing to strengthen competitiveness by introducing a series of "omnibus laws" to simplify sector-specific regulations based on Draghi's report, but criticism remains that implementation is still lacking.

Recently, Europe's internal and external economic conditions have worsened further due to the all-out tariff pressure from the Donald Trump administration in the United States. At the conference, President von der Leyen said, "I hope there will be a sense of urgency across the EU regarding the competitiveness agenda," and emphasized, "Action is needed to respond to these pressing demands."