Europe Does Not Need Another Think Tank. It Needs to Become a Power.
Schengen and the euro were extraordinary achievements. But Europe stopped halfway.
The creation of the Rhine Group around Mario Draghi and Patrick Collison is presented as another attempt to confront Europe’s competitiveness crisis.
The intentions may be serious. The people involved are certainly capable. And the diagnosis is not wrong.
But I believe Europe is asking the wrong question.
Europe does not suffer from a shortage of economists, analysts, reports or think tanks.
Europe suffers from a shortage of political power, strategic unity and the ability to act as one.
This distinction is fundamental.
Mario Draghi’s 2024 report on European competitiveness already identified many of the structural problems that are holding Europe back. The European Commission itself says that the report has become an important basis for its competitiveness agenda and subsequent policy initiatives. (European Commission)
So what exactly is another think tank going to discover?
Europe already knows that it needs more investment, greater productivity, deeper capital markets, cheaper and more secure energy, faster innovation, less bureaucracy and stronger European companies.
The problem is not the diagnosis.
The problem is execution.
And execution requires political authority.
The extraordinary paradox of Europe
Europe is one of the richest economic areas in the world.
The EU Single Market represents approximately 450 million consumers, 34 million businesses and around €18 trillion in GDP, making it the world’s second-largest economy according to the European Commission. (European Commission)
Twenty-one EU countries now share the euro, used daily by more than 350 million Europeans. Bulgaria became the 21st euro-area member on 1 January 2026. (Economy and Finance)