“The leading firms in research and investment-spending are the same ones we had 20 years ago ― cars,” he said. “The United States used to be the same, autos and pharma, 20 years ago. Now it’s all digital.”
China isn’t just catching up. In areas like the electric vehicle industry, it is even leapfrogging Europe.
Magic wand
Draghi’s vision of how to respond, one focused on clean energy, high-tech and resilience, is ambitious. The proposals span energy market reform, looser merger rules and ― one for the Brussels nerds here ― even changes to the EU’s legislative consultation process (known in the jargon as “comitology”).
He wants to put some serious financial firepower behind the project: an extra €800 billion a year in private and public investment, which would be an unprecedented leap in spending for a continent still unsure about whether it should be trying to splash the cash or balance the books.
If a wand could be waved and all these solutions implemented there’s no question that it would put rocket boosters under the European economy.
But his 77 years must have taught Draghi, like all current European politicians and all the ones that came before, that no such wand exists.