‘Stability is not the same as inertia’

Mario Draghi's findings in his report "The Future of European Competitiveness," and the concerns of academics, professionals and entrepreneurs, lead to the conclusion that Europe is not just at a critical point, it is on a cliff's edge. High ambitions and a lack of strategy threaten the Union's security and prosperity. Competition with China and the United States, and rising geopolitical uncertainty, demand a strong and decisive response from Europe. But today such a reply does not seem likely. A few critical sectors prove this.

With its Green Deal, the EU set itself more ambitious targets than its rivals. But those who charted the strategy appear to have underestimated the cost to industry and citizens. Nor did they consider the difficulty in securing an adequate supply of critical raw materials (CRM) and Europeans' lack of expertise in processing many of these materials,...