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The world has changed, Europe is under attack and is trying to respond.
There is only one way forward: "a pragmatic federalism" that allows it to move forward on strategic issues. Mario Draghi returns to speak about the present and future of Europe. He does so in Oviedo, from the Campoamor Theater, where he was awarded the prestigious "Princesa de Asturias" award for international cooperation. According to the jury, Draghi is "a key figure in the defense of European integration and international cooperation".
And it is again to the Union, for which he drafted the Competitiveness Report, that the former ECB President addressed his warning. Draghi's starting point has been the same for months now: "almost every principle on which the EU is founded is under attack. The world has changed and Europe is trying to respond." "This is the turning point" already well emphasized in May in Coimbra, at COTEC, in the presence of President Sergio Mattarella, which Draghi also based on his remarks in Oviedo. He presented a proposal, more than an appeal, that fits well with current events in Brussels, namely the debate on overcoming the unanimous quorum for some key EU decisions.
For Draghi, such a transition is, from a regulatory perspective, impossible today. However, it must be implemented in practice.
"It is a federalism based on specific issues, flexible and capable of operating outside the slower mechanisms of the EU decision-making process. It would be built by 'coalitions of the willing' around shared strategic interests, recognizing that the different forces of Europe do not require every country to move at the same pace," is the thesis of the former Italian prime minister.
A thesis that, for the EU, is now "a necessity". Moreover, his intervention comes just a few hours after a meeting of the European Council where, once again, the conclusions on Ukraine were approved by the 26, that is to say excluding Hungary. And where the proposal to use Russian assets for reparation loans for Kiev was suddenly stopped, amid a veto from Belgium and doubts from several capitals, including Rome. Even on the key issue of competitiveness and its relationship with the Green Deal, the 27 leaders showed more than a few cracks. An extraordinary European Council will be held on 12 February to address precisely this issue.
Draghi and Enrico Letta, the author of the report on the single market, will be present. "Today, the outlook for Europe is among the most challenging I can remember. We built our prosperity on openness and multilateralism: now we face protectionism and unilateral actions. We believed that diplomacy could be the foundation of our security: now we are witnessing the return of military power as a means to protect our interests. We promised leadership on climate responsibility: now we see others retreating while we bear the rising costs," Draghi recalled.
Europe, he stressed, has always responded to crises. It did so after the sovereign debt crisis, or after Covid. The situation today is different and more complex. And Draghi summed it up by asking the Oviedo audience a question that remains unanswered for now: "how serious does a crisis have to become for our leaders to join forces and find the political will to act?"
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