Mario Draghi criticises EU’s slow implementation of competitiveness reforms
Former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi has criticised the slow pace at which the European Union is implementing recommendations from his report on strengthening competitiveness, published a year ago.
Speaking in Brussels at a European Commission conference on Tuesday, Draghi said: “Citizens and companies (...) are disappointed by how slowly the EU moves. They see us failing to match the speed of change elsewhere,” referring to the US and China.
He mainly blamed member states for holding back progress. “Governments have not grasped the gravity of the moment. Too often, excuses are made for this slowness. We say it is simply how the EU is built. That a complex process with many actors must be respected.”
He called for the simplification of regulations such as GDPR and suggested suspending the next phase of the AI Act “until we better understand the drawbacks”. Draghi said implementation should be based on retrospective evaluation, assessing AI models according to actual capabilities and proven risks.
Joint issuance
Draghi also reiterated his call for a new common EU debt, either including all member states or at least a “coalition of the willing”, to enhance cooperation. Joint issuance would allow Europe to fund larger projects in areas that increase productivity, where fragmented national spending can no longer deliver.
He further noted that Europe's defence dependency on the US partly explains why recent trade agreements favour America. While reducing reliance on the US market is unrealistic in the short term, the EU-Mercosur trade deal could offer some relief for European exporters, he said.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged the need to accelerate reforms. She highlighted the Commission’s achievements over the past year on AI, boosting the defence industry and cutting red tape, while calling on member states and the European Parliament to increase the pace of implementation.
Mario Draghi speaks in Brussels, 16 September 2025 © PHOTO NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP
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