We asked some Eu economists how and where they think Europe’s economic and commercial power manifests itself, and what its aims should be in order to be competitive in this world.
The most important manifestation of Europe’s economic power is the fact that since the withdrawal of US aid financial support from the European Union, coordinated with United Kingdom and Norway, has kept Ukraine in the field. When combined with the tenacity of the Ukrainian people, European financial power can stop Russian military power.
Europe is competitive in the sense that it is the biggest exporter and has a big trade surplus. Contrary to what many might think, Europe is also competitive in the electric car market since the European Union has a big trade surplus in battery electric vehicles. But Europe is not competitive in high tech like Artificial Intelligence or ICT in general. Changing this does not require big public investments but rather creating the fundamental conditions to allow high-tech enterprises to grow in Europe. This requires, first and foremost, more flexibility. High tech firms need to adapt to new technologies all the time. This means they must be able to adjust their workforce continuously. This is possible in some European countries (Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland) and in these countries high-tech is strong. These examples in Europe show that there is no need to adopt the US model.
Daniel Gros
German economist, director of the Institute for European Policymaking (IEP) at Bocconi University and member of the board at the Centre for European Policy Studies.
Europe’s economic and commercial power manifests itself first and foremost in the single market. Even in its current incomplete form, it represents one of the largest integrated economic areas in the world and is a structural source of strength for the Union. It is the single market that enables Europe to exert significant influence on global value chains, attract investment and support businesses capable of competing internationally. At the same time, it is precisely the unfinished nature of the single market that highlights Europe’s untapped potential. Persistent fragmentation – particularly in services, capital markets, energy and digital – limits the Union’s ability to fully translate its economic size into competitiveness, strategic autonomy and economic security. Completing and deepening the single market is therefore not only an economic objective, but a fundamental geopolitical choice to strengthen Europe’s role in the world.
Europe’s goal must be to strengthen its capacity for investment, innovation and production in strategic sectors in a sustainable manner. European competitiveness cannot be based on a race to the bottom, but on a model that values quality, sustainability, technology and human capital. To achieve this, it is essential to close the investment gap that penalises the Union compared to other major global players, strengthen the industrial ecosystem and accelerate the green and digital transition. In this context, common instruments and European financial capacities play an essential role. The EIB Group is a key player in supporting this ambition: it mobilises capital on a large scale, reduces risks for investors and supports businesses and regions in strategic transitions, helping to create so-called European champions capable of competing with other international players. I do not believe that the Draghi report is an isolated voice, but rather the formalisation of a widely shared awareness in Europe. Its conclusions put in black and white what institutions and economic operators have long recognised: without a decisive strengthening of investment capacity and joint action, Europe risks progressive structural weakening. The challenge today is no longer one of analysis, but of translating this diagnosis into concrete decisions. In this sense, the report offers a clear direction and a solid framework for guiding European policies and the use of available financial instruments. In this process, the EIB Group plays a central role in transforming the vision into projects, investments and measurable impacts. This is not a future or theoretical commitment: the EIB is already fully engaged on these priorities, as clearly demonstrated by the results achieved in 2025, when we financed projects supporting the European Union’s economic priorities for a record €100 billion. The message of the report does not fall on deaf ears: it points in a clear direction. It is now up to Europe to follow it with determination, and the EIB Group is ready to play its part.
Gelsomina Vigliotti
Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), former Director-General of the Office of International Financial Relations at the Italian Treasury.
We are rapidly moving beyond a world where economic and commercial power can exist separately from the capacity for governments to project and protect their vital interests. In this new world, a European Union that focuses only on crafting the rules and regulations for commerce would be lost. To be competitive, Europe – meaning both the European Union and those like-minded countries and essential partners who share the same values and geographic space – must be capable of insulating its people from the vulnerabilities associated with economic interdependence and protecting them from non-European actors who would seek to do harm. That is the message that comes out of the Draghi report. It is not a voice crying in the wilderness but a stark notice that we can no longer take the existence of a rules-based international system as given.
Draghi’s report is hardly alone. The report by Enrico Letta paved the way by explaining that Europe’s single market is more than just a ‘market’; the single market is a resource for Europeans to protect themselves and promote their prosperity. The report by former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö extended the argument to underscore how European’s will have to take personal responsibility for ensuring that ‘Europe’ – again in that wider sense – is both effective and resilient. Niinistö made it clear that success will depend upon a whole-of-society effort.
That effort has already begun. You can see it in the EU’s economic security strategy and in its commitment to readiness by 2030. You can see it in the recently adopted European defence industrial programme and the commitment to provide essential financial assistance to Ukraine. And you can see it in the EU’s strong commitment to strengthening essential partnerships both through the enlargement of the European Union to countries in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans and through efforts to tighten connections with the United Kingdom, Norway, and Turkey. This strong emphasis on partnership building stands in sharp contrast to what is happening across the Atlantic in relations between Europe and the United States. The message to underscore is that strength, competitiveness, and prosperity all come from unity. That is even more true in a world that moves away from a rules-based international system than it was when such a system could be taken for granted.
Erik Jones
director of the Robert Schuman Centre at the European University Institute. Has served as Professor of European Studies and International Political Economy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
