The Draghi report is a 2024 report addressing European competitiveness and the future of the European Union. Authored by former ECB president and former Prime Minister of Italy

Mario Draghi Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, banker, statesman, and civil servant, who served as the prime minister of Italy from 13 February 2021 to 22 October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime mi ...

, it was one of two widely anticipated reports on EU reforms in 2024, together with the report on the EU internal market by Enrico Letta. Parts of the Draghi report's proposals have already been adopted by

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

president

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

for the work programme of her 2024–2029 Commission term.

Content

Competitiveness

Draghi's report urges the EU to foster more investment to increase European productivity. The report proposes new prudential rules for banking and institutional investors to facilitate risky investments. Draghi warned that if the EU failed to catch up with its rivals, it would face "slow agony". He wrote that the EU "needs far more coordinated industrial policy, more rapid decisions and massive investment if it wants to keep pace economically with rivals icthe United States and China". The report was expected to affect transatlantic ties in the years to come.

EU budget

The report supports joint borrowing, something von der Leyen and various member states immediately rejected.

Energy sector

The Draghi report makes the energy sector a top priority. Updates and extensions of the European

power grid ''Power Grid'' is the English-language version of the second edition of the multiplayer German-style board game ''Funkenschlag'', designed by Friedemann Friese and first released in 2004. ''Power Grid'' was released by Rio Grande Games. I ...

are necessary. The report's stress on the necessity to develop cross border electricity management (Capacity Allocation and Congestion Management) by power exchanges and

transmission system operator File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg, 380px, Simplified diagram of AC electricity grid from generation stations to consumers in North America rect 2 243 235 438 Power station rect 276 317 412 556 Transformer rect 412 121 781 400 Elect ...

s was confirmed by the 2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout.

Reactions

The report had been eagerly awaited by some, and initial reactions from think-tankers were mixed, while

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

compared the plan's scope to the 1948

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...

. A report out of

Chatham House The Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, is a British think tank based in London, England. Its stated mission is "to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous, and just world". It ...

opined that "Stark recommendations in the Draghi report risk being thwarted by a European leadership vacuum – and a lacking sense of urgency." Critics pointed to a lack of representation of the stakeholders consulted in the creation of the report. Central and Eastern Europe as well as the civil society and trade unions were underrepresented, causing it to focus too much on core European countries and on business interests, and addressing social and ecological challenges with fewer points of view only. French economist

Thomas Piketty Thomas Piketty (; born 7 May 1971) is a French economist who is a professor of economics at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, associate chair at the Paris School of Economics (PSE) and Centennial Professor of Economics ...

welcomed the Draghi report as "going in the right direction" and "having the immense merit of overturning the dogma of

fiscal austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: high ...

". Italian economist

Lucrezia Reichlin Lucrezia Reichlin (born 14 August 1954) is an Italian economist who has been a professor at London Business School since 2008. As of early 2025, she was also a non-resident fellow at Bruegel. Reichlin's research focuses on forecasting, busines ...

wrote: "According to Draghi, the challenges Europe is facing are nothing short of existential."

References

External links

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Translation in all official languages of EU
2024 in the European Union Government reports Mario Draghi {{EU-stub