The future of European competitiveness
STRING welcomes the report by Mario Draghi, “The Future of European Competitiveness,” which focuses on strengthening European cooperation to boost innovation and drive investments in infrastructure, green technology, and renewable energy, among other initiatives crucial for sustainable and competitive growth across Europe.”
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen commissioned former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi to write a report on how the EU could regain its competitive edge. The report titled “The Future of European Competitiveness” has been eagerly awaited by many and has generated great interest in Europe and beyond. The report highlights the necessity of more European cooperation to achieve greater innovation and more investments in infrastructure, green technology and renewable energy.
The challenges that Europe faces are enormous and so are, according to Draghi, the monetary investments that are needed to overcome them. The report states that EUR 750 to 800 Billion annual investment are needed, with corresponds to almost 5 per cent of EU GDP to deal with the threats facing the continent and to enhance innovation to compete with China and the USA.
Investments in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure
The report highlights the need for greater investment in infrastructure, specifically for renewables, grids, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). Current investments in hydrogen infrastructure are slow and insufficient. To address this, the report recommends accelerating regulatory measures and funding for hydrogen projects. It also emphasizes regional cooperation to gain political support for cross-border hydrogen infrastructure. Additionally, the report suggests that the EU and national governments allocate more financial resources to decarbonize energy-intensive industries (EIIs) by supporting green hydrogen adoption and CCS technologies.
Transport is crucial to the EU’s decarbonization efforts but faces challenges due to fragmented planning, lack of interoperability, and limited digitalization. Draghi states: “We suffer from slow and suboptimal infrastructure investment, both for renewables and for grids.” The report emphasises that a unified, coordinated approach between the EU and member states is vital to ensure interoperability and competition in rail and energy integration. It further suggests that ETS revenues could be used to support the shift to sustainable transport, including investments in low-carbon fuels and rail infrastructure, through mechanisms like Carbon Contracts for Difference (CfDs). The electrification of Europe’s energy system will further drive sustainable transport growth
STRING strongly agrees with the report that achieving sustainable mobility requires a holistic approach, integrating energy networks, charging infrastructure, and standardisation of manufacturing, telecommunications, and financial systems.
In line with STRING’s vision for a Green Hub
The report emphasises the importance of green investments and joint action to an extent that would be unprecedented, yet, more necessary than ever. This is something that is crucial and very much in line with the vision for the STRING Megaregion. STRING agrees that Europe should prioritize support for clean tech manufacturing, concentrating on technologies where it has a competitive edge or a strategic interest in developing domestic capacity. STRING welcomes the recommendation that the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) should simplify funding for clean tech and the suggestion to offer companies a single access point for both capital and operational expenditure support across the EU. This would increase access to funding across borders thus increasing private sector investment, innovation and competition in the region.
The report states that the main competitiveness threat to clean tech in Europe is “a lack of an industrial strategy equivalent to other major regions”. The EU as a whole or regional units in Europe should align their industrial strategy to work towards enabling the green transition. The STRING region can be a forerunner in this and provide an example to the rest of Europe when it comes to regional and cross-border (transregional) cooperation that work for sustainable infrastructure, innovation and green growth.
