Euroseeds, the voice of the European seed sector, welcomes the release of the report by Mario Draghi and his team on European competitiveness. This report, following the ones of Enrico Letta on the single market and of Peter Strohschneider on the Future of Agriculture, marks yet another input to the debate how to re-shape Europe’s future by fostering innovation, improving governance, and ensuring Europe’s sustainable competitiveness in the face of global challenges.
The report addresses critical areas, including enhancing Europe’s innovation ecosystem, bridging investment gaps, fostering competitiveness, and implementing governance reforms. It highlights the urgency of accelerating Europe’s transition towards a more innovative and sustainable future. Garlich von Essen, Secretary General and CEO of Euroseeds, commented on the report’s importance:
“Even if it comes with delay, the report delivered today by Mario Draghi and his team is another important call to Europe to better use innovations and technologies as tools to drive investments and cooperation. These are crucial elements for fast-tracking the transition to more competitiveness in a way that reflects the economic, environmental social, and political aspects of sustainability.”
Euroseeds firmly believes that the need for innovation and technology outlined in the report must also apply to the agricultural sector to successfully address pressing issues such as food security and environmental challenges while safeguarding market access and competitiveness.
Though the Draghi report lays out general strategic recommendations for increasing Europe’s productivity, closing the innovation gap, and creating more sustainable industries through decarbonization and technological advancements, it lacks recognition of the agri-food sector’s economic relevance and offers no concrete recommendations in this area.
“Given the economic importance of the EU’s agri-food sector, the number of jobs depending on it, the fact that it is the one sector truly present across the entire Union, and is an area where the EU enjoys widest policy competence, a more elaborate part in the Draghi would have been justified.”, von Essen commented further. “It now remains to be seen how these rather general recommendations will truly impact and mark a change in the concrete policy choices ahead of us.”
