Europe faces economic crossroads to boost competitiveness

Europe faces a historical crossroads regarding its economic model and ability to compete with the industrial and technological capabilities of the United States and China. The debate has shifted from whether the state should merely regulate and redistribute wealth to what kind of state is required to actively foster prosperity in an era of intense geopolitical and technological competition.

Key drivers of this shift include the transformation of supply chains into instruments of power, the impact of artificial intelligence, the massive investment requirements for the energy transition, and the strategic importance of sectors such as semiconductors, biotechnology, robotics, quantum computing, and defense technologies.

Building on the 2024 Draghi Report, there is a growing consensus that reducing bureaucracy and facilitating business creation is insufficient. To recover competitiveness and close the innovation gap, Europe requires an ambitious state capable of actively contributing to the creation of new wealth and reducing strategic dependencies through extraordinary investment efforts.