One year ago, Mario Draghi stood before the European Parliament in Strasbourg with a stark warning.
“My concern is not that we will suddenly find ourselves poor and subservient to others. It is that, over time, we will inexorably become less prosperous, less equal, less secure and, as a result, less free to choose our destiny.”
His report on European competitiveness, commissioned by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was meant to be nothing less than a blueprint for Europe’s future. It set out 383 recommendations to help the EU adapt to a world of slowing trade, geopolitical fragmentation, high energy prices, and growing dependence on China and the United States.
Twelve months later, the European Policy Innovation Council (EPIC) has published the first-ever audit of the Draghi Report’s implementation. The results are sobering.
According to the Draghi Observatory & Implementation Index:
Even counting partial progress, the EU is only one-third of the way through Draghi’s agenda. Nearly two-thirds remain unfinished.
One of the EU’s chronic weaknesses is the absence of effective accountability mechanisms. While the Commission, Parliament and Member States regularly announce bold priorities at the start of each term, it is often unclear years later which promises have actually been delivered.
The Draghi Report presented a unique opportunity. It was a concrete roadmap, commissioned at the highest political level, and intended to guide Europe’s economic transformation. But without a tool to monitor delivery, it risked becoming just another ambitious document.
That gap is now filled by the Draghi Observatory & Implementation Index, created by EPIC. Modelled on global best practices such as Canada’s Polimeter and the US PolitiFact Truth-O-Meter, the Index tracks each recommendation as if it were a political pledge. A panel of over 120 experts evaluates progress, ensuring sectoral and geographical diversity.
As Dr Antonios Nestoras, Deputy Director of EPIC, explained:
“The Draghi Report was a promise. We expect it to be implemented. The Observatory was born as a much-needed accountability mechanism – the first of its kind at EU level.”
The audit highlights striking contrasts:
The reasons? Political urgency drives action in sectors linked to security and supply chains. Regulatory complexity slows clean tech and digitalisation. And fragmented institutional ownership means files without a clear lead DG often stall.
For European businesses and citizens, the message is clear: many of the promised benefits – lower energy prices, faster digitalisation, easier access to finance – are still distant.
As Dr Nestoras put it:
“Brussels is very active in planning, but much less effective in delivering. Without a rapid shift from words to action, Europe’s competitiveness will continue to erode.”
The Draghi Observatory is only just beginning.
Europe still has the blueprint. What it needs now is the political will to act.
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