Mario Draghi – former European Central Bank President and one of Europe's great economic minds – was tasked by the European Commission to prepare a report of his personal vision on the future of European competitiveness. The report looks at the challenges faced by the industry and companies in the Single Market. It outlines how Europe will no longer be able to rely on many of the factors that have supported growth in the past and lays out a clear diagnosis and provides concrete recommendations to put Europe onto a different trajectory.

Europe’s fundamental values are prosperity, equity, freedom, peace and democracy in a sustainable environment. The EU exists to ensure that Europeans can always benefit from these fundamental rights. If Europe can no longer provide them to its people – or has to trade off one against the other – it will have lost its reason for being. The only way to meet this challenge is to grow and become more productive, preserving our values of equity and social inclusion. And the only way to become more productive is for Europe to radically change.

Sectoral policies: Energ,Critical raw materials, Digitalisation and advanced technologies, Energy-intensive industries, Clean technologies, Automotive, Defence, Space, Pharma, Transport. Horizontal policies: Accelerating innovation, Closing the skills gap, Sustaining investment, Revamping competition, Strengthening governance.

17 September 2024.

To safeguard and boost Europe’s competitiveness, also vis-à-vis other global actors, prosperity, and fairness, we must take decisive action. This starts with making business easier and faster, and deepening our single market across all sectors. The competitiveness compass, as the first major initiative of the new Commission, will frame our future work building on the Draghi report.

Growing challenges such as climate change, artificial intelligence and geopolitical tensions are changing the world we live in. In order to thrive in this new landscape, we need to ensure that Europe is a place where growth and innovation can continue to be fostered. To ensure that European businesses can thrive in the global marketplace and to deliver sustainable prosperity for all people in the EU, the Commission is placing competitiveness at the heart of its economic agenda. The Commission’s work in this area is guided by the Draghi report and the competitiveness compass.

Over the last two decades, Europe's potential has remained strong, even as other major economies have grown at a faster pace. The EU has everything it takes to unlock its full potential and drive faster, more sustainable growth: we boast a talented and educated workforce, capital, savings, the single market, and a unique social model. To restore our competitiveness and unleash growth, we need to tackle the barriers and weaknesses that are holding us back. In January 2025, the Commission presented the competitiveness compass, a new roadmap to restore Europe’s dynamism and boost our economic growth.

Faced with high energy costs and fierce global competition, European industries need urgent support. The Clean Industrial Deal outlines concrete actions to turn decarbonisation into a driver of growth for European industries. This includes lowering energy prices, creating quality jobs and the right conditions for companies to thrive.

The European Commission's regulatory fitness and performance programme (REFIT) aims to ensure that EU laws deliver on their objectives at a minimum cost for the benefit of citizens and businesses.

Speed, coherence, and simplification are key political priorities in everything the Commission does. The Political Guidelines highlight simplification of EU policies and laws, and their better implementation as essential to make business easier and faster in Europe. Those efforts also lay at the heart of the Commission’s focus to strengthen European competitiveness.

The European Union needs skilled people to respond to new challenges and stay competitive. But as job requirements change, many workers struggle to keep up and businesses cannot find the right talent. These skills and labour gaps are hindering European competitiveness. That is why the European Commission is introducing the union of skills, a plan to improve high quality education, training, and lifelong learning.

The Commission has adopted a new strategy to channel savings into productive investments. It seeks to increase EU citizens’ participation in capital markets with broader investment options and improved financial literacy, fostering their wealth and boosting the EU economy.

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Speed, coherence, and simplification are key political priorities in everything the Commission does. The Political Guidelines highlight simplification of EU policies and laws, and their better implementation as essential to make business easier and faster in Europe. Those efforts also lay at the heart of the Commission’s focus to strengthen European competitiveness.