On September 9, Mario Draghi presented the report to improve European competitiveness commissioned by the Commission. One of the most notable points of the document was the warning presented by the former president of the European Central Bank, who recognized the existential danger that threatens the European Union and which requires drastic and urgent measures to improve the European competitiveness. in order to face giants like China or the United States. Today, Emmanuel Macron, President of France, followed in Draghi’s footsteps and left a strong message at a conference in Berlin: The EU is in danger and the bloc’s economy and competitiveness must be radically transformed if we intend to survive in the new socio-economic and geopolitical context that is forming in the world.
“The European Union can die; we are on the eve of a very important moment. Our model of the past is over: we regulate too much and invest too little. If in two or three years we continue this program, we will be out of the market”, declared the French president during a debate at the Global Dialogue conference in Berlin.
Macron’s message follows that presented by Draghi in early Septembera report which warns of all the dangers that the European Union will face in the years to come, and which will demand that leaders rise to the occasion. And this is no small thing: on the Old Continent, productivity has stagnated for years and while the world prepares to adapt to new technological developments such as artificial intelligence, Europe is left behind.
One of the problems highlighted by many analysts is in fact the inefficiency generated by an imperfect union, without a common defense, banking or budgetary union, which punishes Europe’s competition in the face of rivals like China or the States -United. From ABN Amro, it was explained at the beginning of the summer that “recent years have been particularly worrying, with structural headwinds, such as low technological diffusion or an imperfect common market, which should continue to weigh negatively on the productivity of businesses”. the eurozone.
In addition to the banking union, deregulation or the creation of common policies in the areas of defense and telecommunications, Macron believes that Europe must create large, united companiesEuropean “champions” who cross member borders, to be able to compete on international markets against large American and Chinese companies. “We must accept having European champions, and not 27 European champions,” explains Macron.
