The EU can no longer afford complacency: without decisive reforms to boost productivity, investment, and innovation, Europe risks long-term economic decline in an increasingly competitive and fragmented world.
Overview
Europe’s economic model is under strain as productivity falters, innovation lags behind global competitors, and fragmented markets undermine collective strength. Once a driver of growth within the liberal economic order, the European Union now faces the risk of relative decline unless it can translate diagnosis into decisive reform. The warning sounded by Mario Draghi has made clear that competitiveness is no longer a technocratic concern, but a central political and strategic challenge.
Rising energy costs, insufficient long-term investment, regulatory overload, and weak capital mobilisation are eroding Europe’s ability to compete with the United States and China. At the same time, the green and digital transitions, demographic pressures, and intensifying global competition demand faster innovation, deeper markets, and more effective governance.
This issue of the Future Europe Journal examines how Europe can complete its “unfinished symphony” by restoring productivity, unlocking private capital, reforming regulation, and strengthening the foundations of growth. Bringing together academics, policymakers, and industry leaders, it moves beyond diagnosis to propose concrete reforms—offering a roadmap to turn Draghi’s plea into action and secure Europe’s economic future.