The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) welcomes Mario Draghi’s proposal to enhance Europe’s competitiveness. The former Italian prime minister and head of the European Central Bank today released a report calling for a “new industrial strategy” to prevent Europe falling behind the US and China.
Report
The report starts: “Europe has been worrying about slowing growth since the start of this century. Various strategies to raise growth rates have come and gone, but the trend has remained unchanged.” Three areas for action to reignite growth:
- Collective efforts on closing the innovation gap with the US and China, especially in advanced technologies.
Europe’s stagnant industrial structure and underinvestment in innovation are inhibiting its ability to compete with dynamic U.S. companies, resulting in a preference among European startups to move to the U.S. for growth and funding. - A joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness.
Europe’s climate targets could either boost growth or hurt competitiveness, depending on whether a coordinated plan aligns decarbonization with industrial needs, as current high energy costs and rising competition from China pose significant challenges. - Increasing security and reducing dependencies.
As geopolitical risks increase, Europe faces growing vulnerability due to its dependence on imports of critical raw materials and digital technologies, requiring a unified EU foreign economic policy to secure supply chains and strengthen defense capabilities.
Takeaways include:
- Annual additional investment of €750 to €800 billion to maintain competitiveness with the US and China. Draghi recommended issuing new joint EU debt similar to what was done during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A push for “new common financial resources and assets” to shift to an EU economic policy that focuses on integration and joint projects.
- Relaxation of competition laws to enable market consolidation, especially in sectors such as telecommunications.
- Centralized market surveillance and joint defense procurement to boost EU independence.
- Urgent investment in both public and private sectors to prevent Europe from losing its global competitiveness.
- Overhaul of the energy market to decouple renewable energy prices from costly fossil fuels.
- A new trade agenda to increase the EU’s economic independence.
Draghi emphasizes the urgency of reforms and warns that without these reforms, the EU could face a decline in living standards and jeopardize its ambitions. “We have reached the point where, without action, we will have to either compromise our welfare, our environment, or our freedom.”
Cefic
Ilham Kadri, CEO of Syensqo and President of Cefic, stressed the importance of this plan for the chemical industry, calling for decisive action to address decarbonization and competitiveness. Kadri echoed Draghi’s warning that without reforms, Europe risks a decline, stating, “If these recommendations are not implemented, as Professor Draghi said today, Europe will be in slow agony. Industry and its workers do not have the luxury to be part of that. It is not only about closing the innovation gap, but about keeping existing capacity profitable in Europe.”
She urged EU policymakers to act on Draghi’s recommendations immediately, emphasizing that the report is a call to action, not just a diagnosis. “I believe I can say on behalf of all the signatories of the Antwerp Declaration that it is time for EU institutions and Member States to answer to this Wake-Up call for Europe. … So from letter to word, from diagnosis to practice, we call to European and National policy makers to act, now.”
- The European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), Brussels, Belgium
- Mario Draghi, The future of European competitiveness, Part A | A competitiveness strategy for Europe, September 9, 2024. (accessed Setember 9, 2024)
Also of Interest
I. Kadri advocates for female leadership in STEM fields, and supports Europe’s climate goals and innovation, emphasizing the need for industry competitiveness
Antwerp Declaration—Industry Leaders’ Agenda for European Competitiveness
