© Reuters. Mario Draghi at a news conference during the European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
MILAN (Reuters) – Mario Draghi met with managers from major European industry in Milan today as he prepares a report on how to revive the continent’s competitiveness.
The former Italian prime minister and president of the European Central Bank was tasked by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with presenting proposals to revitalize the region’s economy in light of competition from China and the United States.
On Friday in Brussels he will have a conversation with Von der Leyen and other EU commissioners on the progress of the report which should be delivered in June or July.
“This is one of the many meetings we hold over the course of this relationship. Today it is the industry and I am listening,” Draghi told reporters as he entered the Bank of Italy headquarters in Milan.
Draghi, 76, has been tipped as a potential option for a top EU post after the European Parliament vote in June.
A source close to Draghi denied he was interested in a role in European institutions, but Italian political sources said he would not withdraw if there was a consensus on his candidacy.
He recently called for an EU fiscal union and warned that without a change in the bloc’s decision-making mechanism, the entire European project is doomed to failure.
“Draghi has given and will continue to give his contribution to the European Union project. The report on competitiveness will be important, but it is too early to talk about appointments,” said the source close to Draghi.
TOP MANAGER
Vodafone (LON:) president Jean-François van Boxmeer and his Siemens counterpart Jim Hagemann Snabe attended the closed-door meeting with a delegation from the European business lobby Economic Round Table (ERT), according to a statement.
The members of the ERT, which boast a combined turnover of over 2,000 billion euros, called for improving the coherence of the European regulatory environment and placing innovation at the center of policies.
Asked whether Draghi hinted at a possible future political role in Brussels, Boxmeer told reporters after the meeting: “This is a very political question. You don’t have to ask me.”
“The biggest challenge we face is to succeed in the energy transition needed to stabilize the climate,” Boxmeer said, speaking in English.
“At the same time, we have to keep our industry alive and compete with the rest of the world, America but also China, and keep up with our level of innovation.”
La Repubblica said last year that French President Emmanuel Macron wanted Draghi as the new president of the EU Commission.
Yesterday the Financial Times reported that Draghi has been tipped by EU officials and diplomats as a potential president of the European Council after current president Charles Michel decided to run for the European Parliament.
The former governor of the Bank of Italy led a national unity government in 2021-2022. The fact that he is not part of any political party is seen as an obstacle, since the positions at the top of the Union tend to be assigned according to political logic.
(Elvira Pollina and Giselda Vagnoni, Translated by Laura Contemori, editing Claudia Cristoferi)