EU
‘Quite underwhelming’: Draghi briefing on competitiveness report light on details


By Thomas Moller-Nielsen | Euractiv
Sep 4, 2024

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Mario Draghi’s presentation of his long-awaited report on the future of Europe’s competitiveness to EU officials on Wednesday (4 September) was light on details and policy proposals, according to EU diplomats and MEPs – with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signalling she has not accessed the full document yet.

EU diplomats told Euractiv that the former European Central Bank (ECB) president’s initial briefing to member state representatives on Wednesday morning contained no detailed policy recommendations. One source went as far as to say that the lack of specificity meant “the much-anticipated” presentation “did not live up to the hype” and was ultimately “quite underwhelming.”

“He spent a lot of time talking about the many problems he’s identified when it comes to Europe’s competitiveness, and argued the EU and its member states need to reform in order to tackle the challenge of the future.”

“But he did not go into the solutions he will (supposedly) present in his report. Nothing on common borrowing, nothing about defence, etc. It was quite underwhelming,” the diplomat said.

An EU official who attended the Italian technocrat’s second presentation to European parliamentary group leaders in the afternoon noted that no concrete recommendations were made.

“Some [group leaders] asked some questions, but he didn’t really answer directly,” the official said, adding that stakeholders will “have to wait” until the report’s expected publication next week for more detailed proposals.

Talking to Euractiv, even the president of the EU executive herself implied she had not seen a version of the report yet.

“We already have the Letta report,” von der Leyen said, referring to the report on the Single Market written by another former Italian Prime Minister and published in April this year. “I have to see the second one.”

Meanwhile, diplomats said that the ex-central banker provided insight only into the report’s “general structure”. In particular, they explained it would be divided into five distinct sections: (i) increasing productivity, (ii) reducing dependencies, (iii) climate change, (iv) social inclusion, and (v) “sector-specific” proposals for ten “major sectors” of the EU economy.

One source said that Draghi, whose policy prescriptions have been a closely guarded secret since von der Leyen commissioned his report last September, concluded his morning briefing by emphasising the need for European unity.

“Draghi stressed the necessity of unprecedented cooperation among member states and a comprehensive reform of all institutions to implement the report’s recommendations effectively,” they said.

Another diplomat who attended the morning briefing said that the former ECB President spoke in “very broad” terms about the challenges confronting Europe’s economy, namely high energy prices, a lack of innovation, and insufficient digitalisation.

Draghi also emphasised the importance of combating climate change, cutting “red tape”, addressing Europe’s widening skills gap, and integrating the EU’s single market, they said.

Unlike in previous speeches, however, he did not broach more controversial topics such as renewing the bloc’s €806.9 billion NextGenerationEU pandemic recovery programme or introducing tariffs to shield European industry from Chinese competition, they said.

Asked whether any of Draghi’s proposals were ill-received by member states, the diplomat said that the briefing was conducted at too “broad” a level for it to be considered controversial.

Political leaders’ reaction

Draghi’s afternoon briefing drew varying reactions from political leaders.

In line with the morning’s feedback, Manfred Weber, leader of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), told reporters that Draghi’s briefing was “quite vague”, adding the Italian “is still in the mood of listening” to others’ views.

Bas Eickhout, co-chair of the Greens/EFA group, agreed with Weber’s analysis but believed that Draghi’s report will likely contain multiple “concrete recommendations”.

“[He will] come up with more specific policy descriptions,” Eickhout said. “I think we all agree that we have many reports already where we have general and very vague messages. So he was making clear that he wants… concrete recommendations.”

Manon Aubry, co-chair of the Left Group in the European Parliament, said that, while the presentation didn’t “say much about the substance [of the report],” the lens of competitiveness through which the report is being written is problematically misguided.

“I think that this prism of competitiveness masks the social reality of millions of people who today are wondering how they will finish their weekends and pay their bills,” she said.

Other political leaders were more circumspect in their appraisal of the briefing. In a statement, Valérie Hayer, leader of the liberal Renew group, said that she simply “welcomed” the exchange with Draghi and “look[s] forward” to the report’s publication.

Assita Kanko, vice chair of the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists Group, told reporters that the exchange was “very interesting” but refused to elaborate on the meeting details.

Júlia Tar, Sarantis Michalopoulos, and Alexandra Brzozowski contributed reporting to this article.

[Edited by Anna Brunetti/René Moerland]

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