Draghi urges EU to allocate €800 billion more a year to boost competitiveness



09/10/2024 10:51 AM


According to a report commissioned by the European Commission and conducted by Mario Draghi, EU member states need to invest extra 800 billion euros annually in reforms to stay competitive against the United States and China.



European Parliament
Additional suggestions outlined in the report authored by the former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Central Bank involve easing antitrust regulations to strengthen certain industries such as telecommunications, centralizing supervision to enhance integration among capital markets, utilizing joint procurement more in the defense industry, and implementing a new trade strategy to boost the EU's economic autonomy.

Draghi wrote that the scale of the union countries now seems smaller compared to the challenges, making a united response more necessary than ever. "By coming together, we will have the strength to reform," he added.

If not, Europe will experience a "prolonged suffering," he told journalists.

Draghi stated that Europe will continue to lag behind the U.S. and China without additional investments. According to him, the amount of these investments is around 750-800 billion euros, which represents 4.4-4.7% of the EU's GDP.

source: ec.europa.eu


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