Draghi: the Don Quixote report

Rui Ribeiro

The "Draghi Report" has become a kind of intellectual trophy: everyone agrees with it, everyone quotes its recommendations, but no one puts it into practice.

Just over a year ago, Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank and one of the most respected voices in European politics and economics, delivered to the European Commission a diagnosis that many described as “necessary” and “relevant.” A document outlining ways to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, simplify its bureaucratic machinery, and create the conditions to avoid falling permanently behind the United States and China.

At the time, declarations of admiration were intense. Governments, EU officials, commentators and even business leaders showered it with praise. The Draghi Report was received as a bold vision, almost a European manifesto to face the challenges of the 21st century. But, as so often happens in Brussels, the enthusiasm remained in the realm of rhetoric. One year on, the report remains where it always was: in the drawer of good intentions.

The analogy with Cervantes is inevitable. Draghi appears here as a modern-day Don Quixote, a man who dreamed big, dared to challenge the windmills of European bureaucracy and believed it was possible to break the spell of institutional procrastination. But, as in the Spanish masterpiece, here too the hero was met with admiration and compassion — but never with genuine action. Europe followed the ritual of platonic love: vows of eternal affection, promises of commitment, knowing glances. But when it came to action, it amounted to no more than kisses on the cheek. A year later, there was no kiss on the lips and "the bed" was miles away — in other words, no action was taken.

The irony is painful. While urgency, simplification and strategic investment were being preached, the EU machinery continued at its usual pace: slow, diffuse, full of reports, public consultations and vague commitments. Other blocs — the United States, China, and even several emerging economies — pushed ahead, turning words into policies, and projects into realities, whether we agree with them or not. A case in point is Trump’s famous tariffs. He spoke and executed (once again, I stress: whether we agree with him or not!). Europe, on the other hand, continued to dance around its own reflection, always promising that “in a few years” there will be progress, persisting in the “fool me because I like it” mindset — until one day (just look at the case of France, which refuses to admit the world has changed, and not even Obelix could govern that Gaulish village).

Von der Leyen even acknowledged the need for greater speed, but the truth is that little or nothing has changed. The "Draghi Report" has become a sort of intellectual trophy: everyone agrees with it, everyone cites its recommendations, everyone uses it in speeches..., but no one puts it into practice. It’s the adolescent crush that never reaches fulfilment, made of passionate promises and theatrical gestures, but with no real consequences.

The problem is that the world doesn’t wait. While Europe blows kisses into the air and gazes admiringly at itself, other global powers have already moved forward with massive investments in artificial intelligence, clean energy, semiconductors, and industrial innovation. What is still a conceptual debate for us is already real competitiveness for them. Draghi dreamed big, but the dream remains stuck in the corridors of Brussels.