The warning could not be clearer. Europe faces “an existential crisis.” “Over time, we will inexorably become less prosperous, less equal, less secure and, as a result, less free to choose our destiny.” Moreover, “without action, we will have to either compromise our welfare, our environment or our freedom.”
The source of those predictions could not be more credible: Mario Draghi. He is a former prime minister of Italy, former president of the European Central Bank and the man credited with saving the euro in 2012. His dire assessment is the outcome of a report commissioned by and delivered last week to newly re-elected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
It’s premature to call the Draghi report dead in the water, but his grim assessment and his eye-popping recommendations — a new industrial strategy that raises investment by €800 billion a year — have even his most fervent supporters at something of a loss. Its message is invaluable, however, one that other countries, including Japan, need to take to heart.
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