16/09/24 (Agence Europe) – Mario Draghi’s report on EU competitiveness, commissioned by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, highlights the importance of cohesion, but “significantly neglects the growing territorial problems as well as the territorial potential for competitiveness and innovation”, regrets the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) in a press release published on Monday 16 September. Furthermore, the maritime sector “is hardly mentioned at all, with no regard for emerging strategies (blue biotechnology and aquaculture), its great potential for growth and its strategic geopolitical contributions”, criticises the CPMR. Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will present his report on the future of European competitiveness in Strasbourg on Tuesday 17 September (see EUROPE 13478/1). (LC)