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Deconstructing Draghi. Europe quest for investment and growth

2025, Progressive Yearbook 2025

Abstract

2024 has been an election year in the EU, which is the usual opportunity for EU citizens to discuss and, to some extent, determine the political future of further EU integration. This time, the June elections were followed by particularly intense debates on the economic future of Europe. To frame the policy debates leading up to the establishment of the new European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and Mario Draghi presented the report “The future of European competitiveness”. Draghi was not alone in thinking about the future of the EU economy. We should, in particular, pay attention to the reports authored by Enrico Letta and the expert group chaired by the LSE professor Andrés Rodriguez-Pose. The combined lessons of these reports should not only lead to action that aims to improve the EU’s business model but also to further boost the social dimension of the EU. Here, we outline these connections in the light of EU policy evolution and in the broader context of transatlantic political developments and globalised economic warfare.