The Draghi Plan and Europe’s sleepwalkers

Ursula von der Leyen met Mario Draghi in Brussels. On leaving, Draghi said that the meeting had gone “very well”. Von der Leyen wrote that Europe is “serious” about competitiveness. The problem is that the figures tell a different story. Almost two years after the Draghi report was presented, only 60 out of 383 recommendations have been fully implemented: 15.7 per cent. The figure stood at 15.1 per cent in January. Progress, therefore, is being made, but it has almost ground to a halt. And 225 recommendations have not been implemented even in part. The political point is simple. The Draghi plan is cited, praised and celebrated. But it has not become Europe’s agenda. It is not the Commission’s agenda, nor is it that of national governments.

Brussels takes action primarily where competitiveness and security overlap: defence, reducing dependencies, investment controls, simplification. It is far less active when it comes to tackling the most difficult issues: energy, capital markets, joint investments, innovation, productivity and the completion of the single market. Europe continues to be quicker at creating rules than at generating growth. European governments also bear a responsibility. Everyone talks about European sovereignty, but almost always selectively. They want it in defence, but less so in energy. They invoke it against China, but not when it comes to integrating financial markets. They celebrate it in speeches, but hold it back when it means giving up a national veto. The Draghi plan, on the other hand, makes one thing clear: without more investment, greater integration and a greater capacity to make decisions together, Europe will become weaker. Giorgia Meloni has a political opportunity here. She could make the Draghi report the centrepiece of her European election campaign: growth, industry, energy, defence, innovation. An agenda of solutions, not scapegoats. What is she waiting for?