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CLECAT participated this week in the event organised by the European Commission marking the first anniversary of the Draghi Report on European competitiveness. The high-level conference on 16 September, opened by President Ursula von der Leyen and Mario Draghi, reviewed progress since the report’s publication and discussed the road ahead for Europe’s competitiveness and economic security.

President von der Leyen presented the Commission’s record as one of real delivery. She stressed that the Competitiveness Compass, unveiled in January 2025, had translated many of Draghi’s recommendations into concrete action. Simplification was presented as a central pillar of this agenda. “We have already adopted six simplification packages, cutting red tape where it hurts businesses the most, and more are in the pipeline,” von der Leyen underlined. The Commission claims that the measures taken so far have already saved European companies €8.4 billion in compliance costs. New simplification initiatives are promised in areas such as digital regulation, defence procurement and transport, alongside a single market roadmap to 2028, which aims to remove barriers in services, energy and telecoms and to create new freedoms in knowledge and innovation.

Von der Leyen also framed simplification as part of a wider competitiveness strategy designed to underpin the EU’s economic security. She pointed to efforts to diversify supply chains, strengthen the EU’s technological base, and mobilise investment in clean and digital technologies. The EU, she argued, must remain an attractive place for businesses to grow and invest in a global context of intensifying competition and rising protectionism.

Beyond simplification, von der Leyen framed the broader agenda as one of securing Europe’s long-term competitiveness and economic security. She highlighted efforts to diversify supply chains, strengthen the EU’s technological base, and mobilise investment in clean and digital technologies. The EU, she argued, must remain an attractive place for businesses to grow and invest in a global context of intensifying competition and rising protectionism.

Mario Draghi struck a markedly more sober tone. While recognising the steps taken, he insisted that the urgency of Europe’s situation requires much deeper reform. “Europe is falling behind because reforms and implementation take too long,” he warned, stressing that regulatory complexity, slow permitting and national fragmentation continue to weigh heavily on competitiveness. Draghi underlined that simplification, while necessary, is far from sufficient: unless Europe tackles the unfinished business of completing the single market, deepening capital markets, and scaling up industrial investment, the EU’s economic security will remain fragile.

For the logistics and supply chain sectors, simplification and predictable rules are essential to lower costs and ensure smooth cross-border operations. Yet long-term economic security will also depend on whether Europe can deliver on its wider structural reforms and create the conditions for resilient, competitive supply chains in an uncertain global economy.

Source:  European Commission