Like a lightning strike sounded the stunning speech of Mario Draghi at an event in Spain for the awarding of the Princesa de Asturias prize on October 24.
The former ECB president and former Prime Minister of Italy spoke candidly about the dark turning point at which Europe finds itself today.
With words that froze the audience, Draghi warned that “almost every principle upon which the European Union was built is under attack.”
The man who saved the euro during the great debt crisis now spoke like a prophet of danger:
“We built our prosperity on openness and multilateralism – now we are surrounded by protectionism and unilateral action.
We believed in diplomacy – now raw military power is returning.”
And the question he hurled was shocking: “How severe must a crisis become before our leaders unite their forces and act?”…
Draghi did not mince his words. He spoke of a Europe that is tired, divided, paralyzed by bureaucracy and endless procedures.
A Europe that, as he said, “still lives by the rules of a world that no longer exists.”
His proposal? A realistic federalism — a Europe of “the willing,” where those who have the courage to cooperate will move forward without being held back by the hesitant.
“We cannot wait indefinitely.
The world is changing faster than Europe can react,” he stressed.
Draghi precisely described the weaknesses of today’s EU: No common defense against threats, energy insecurity, technological dependence on the USA and China, and a loss of citizens’ trust.
And he closed with a phrase that sounds like a warning — or like a last chance:
“Europe must stop acting out of fear of decline and start acting with pride in what it can still achieve.”
Draghi rang the bell.
The question is whether European leaders will listen to him – or whether they will wait for the next crisis to swallow them.
The speech
Your Majesty, Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, distinguished laureates, ladies and gentlemen,
It is an exceptional honor to receive this award. I accept it not only with gratitude but also with a deep sense of responsibility toward a mission that has defined my professional life.
My public service in Italy began with the negotiations for the Treaty of Maastricht. Since then, the building of Europe has been a central purpose of my career — both as head of national policies, as head of the Italian Ministry of Finance, and later as Prime Minister and representative of Europe, head of the ECB.
But today, the prospects for Europe are among the most difficult I can remember. Almost every principle on which the Union is based is under attack.
We built our prosperity on openness and multilateralism; now we face protectionism and unilateral action.
We believed that diplomacy could serve as the foundation of our security; now we witness the return of military power as an instrument of asserting interests.
We promised leadership in climate responsibility; now we see others retreating while we bear the increasing costs.
The world around us has changed radically — and Europe struggles to respond.
This raises a critical question: why can’t we change?
We are often told that Europe is forged in crises. But how severe must a crisis become before our leaders unite their forces and find the political will to act?
After the great financial and public debt crises, the ECB — thanks to its European mandate — evolved into a more federal institution; the Banking Union also began.
Since then, however, our challenges have become increasingly complex — and now they demand joint action from the Member States.
They concern areas such as defense, energy security, and cutting-edge technologies, which require continental scale and joint investments.
And in some of these areas — especially in defense and foreign policy — a deeper level of democratic legitimacy is essential.
We have not changed our governance model for many years. Today we are a European Confederation that simply cannot meet these needs.
This leaves responsibilities at the national level that can no longer be managed effectively. And even if we wished to transfer more powers to Europe, this model does not offer us the democratic legitimacy to do so.
This is not merely a matter of the legal limitations of the EU Treaties. The deeper constraint is that, faced with this new world, we have not created a common mandate — approved by citizens — for what we, as Europeans, truly intend to achieve together.
Not out of dream, but out of necessity, the future of Europe must be a course toward federalism.
But, however desirable a true federation may be, it would require political conditions that do not exist today. And the challenges we face are too urgent to wait for those conditions to emerge.
A new, realistic federalism is therefore the only viable path.
It is a federalism based on specific issues, flexible, and capable of acting outside the slower mechanisms of the EU decision-making process.
It will be built by “coalitions of the willing” around common strategic interests — recognizing that Europe’s diverse strengths do not require every country to move at the same pace.
Imagine countries with strong technological sectors agreeing on a common framework that allows their companies to grow rapidly, nations with advanced defense industries pooling research and development and funding joint procurements, industrial leaders jointly investing in critical sectors such as semiconductors or in network infrastructures that reduce energy costs.
This realistic federalism would allow the more ambitious to act with the speed, scale, and intensity of other global powers. And, equally important, it could help renew Europe’s democratic dynamism.
Because participation would require national governments to win democratic support for specific common goals — a process that would constitute a construction of shared purpose from the bottom up, not an imposition from above.
Whoever wishes to participate can do so, while those who seek to obstruct progress will no longer be able to stop the others.
In short, it offers a vision of a confident Europe — and a vision in which citizens can believe.
A Europe where young people see their future.
A Europe that refuses to be trampled upon.
A Europe that does not act out of fear of decline, but out of pride in what it can still achieve.
We must offer this vision if we want Europe to renew itself. And I am confident that we can do it.
Thank you.
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