The first elements of Mario Draghi’s report on the future of competitiveness are becoming known, but the final document is not expected to be published before Monday 9 September, according to three sources. In addition, the College of Commissioners could receive Mr Draghi in the wake of the Wednesday 11 September meeting. For the moment, the former President of the ECB and former Italian Prime Minister has only presented the broad outlines of the report to the permanent representatives of the Member States to the EU, and to the presidents of the European Parliament groups, on Wednesday 4 September.
The presentation was intended to be “vague” on the content of the recommendations, as Mr Draghi was still in a spirit of “listening”, according to the EPP President, Manfred Weber.
The author of the report highlighted the current obstacles to European competitiveness: lack of skills in strategic technologies and capacity for innovation, high energy prices. He stressed the urgency of the situation in order to face up to international competition, clearly mentioning China and the United States.
On the other hand, in order to be responsive and effective, Member States will need to demonstrate greater cooperation.
The main points of the report. Mario Draghi’s report, which is expected to run to several hundred pages, will comprise four main themes, followed by a section containing concrete recommendations in ten major sectors of the economy, according to what he has presented to the EU Council and Parliament.
The four parts are divided as follows: - productivity; - reducing dependency; - energy and climate; - social inclusion.
At the EU Council, the permanent representatives of most of the Member States told Mr Draghi that they also expected his expertise on these issues: - public and private investment; - State aid rules; - the Capital Markets Union; - the next Multiannual Financial Framework; - industrial policy; - support for innovation; - administrative simplification.
The ‘financing’ aspect of industrial policy will be included in the report, but at this stage the author has not yet revealed any details on this point. Both the EU Council and the European Parliament are waiting for his recommendations on the use of European funds to invest in strategic technologies. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)