Rhine Group: Draghi and Collison (Stripe) bring together experts to revitalise European competitiveness and innovation

It is a question of economic power and, ultimately, of sovereignty. Because a Europe with low growth is a Europe with fewer resources to fund what it considers essential: defence, healthcare, pensions, education, climate investment and social protection. The group’s argument is clear: economic stagnation, if it persists over time, ultimately becomes a political and strategic problem.

It is here that the emergence of the Rhine Group takes on a broader significance. For decades, Europe was able to rely on a relatively favourable international environment. World trade grew under the umbrella of multilateral rules, the United States guaranteed a decisive part of Western security, and many economic dependencies could be seen as reciprocal and therefore manageable. That world, according to Draghi and Collison, no longer exists. The United States has become more protectionist; China is a far more aggressive competitor both in international markets and within the European market itself; whilst strategic dependencies – in energy, technology and industry – have become riskier. The result is that Europe now finds itself more exposed to external events, just as its growth model is revealing its limitations. Hence the tone of the group’s manifesto.

“Decline is not inevitable”, is essentially the argument, “but it is the direction we are heading in if we do not act urgently”. And the response should not be to resign ourselves to a Europe that has been reduced to a second-tier power. On the contrary: the continent must return to competing, building and growing.

This shift is significant because it overturns a certain defensive narrative about Europe. The Rhine Group does not start from the idea of protecting what already exists, but from the need to rebuild Europe’s capacity to innovate and create businesses capable of competing on a global scale. This is also because, as the promoters point out, Europe is not a marginal market: it is the second-largest market in the world. The truly novel aspect of the Rhine Group, however, lies in its attempt to take a step further than the report published by Draghi in 2024. That document had produced a very comprehensive analysis and over 170 proposals on energy, industry, defence, digital infrastructure, capital markets and productivity. It has become one of the key references in the European debate on competitiveness. The challenge now is to transform those ideas into reforms that can actually be implemented.

The Rhine Group was established precisely in this space: between research and politics, between analysis and implementation. It is not formally a European institution and does not claim to take the place of the Commission or national governments. Rather, it aims to be a forum where people who would normally sit at different tables can come together to discuss the major reforms that Europe needs.

Government, academia, finance, industry and technology are brought together under one roof. And a glance at the list of participants makes it clear that this is no ordinary think tank. The group includes leading figures from the worlds of economics, business, finance and European politics: from Nobel laureate Philippe Aghion to former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, from Beatrice Weder di Mauro, president of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, to Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist, right through to tech entrepreneurs such as Tobi Lütke of Shopify, Niklas Zennström of Atomico and Sebastian Siemiatkowski of Klarna. There are also leading figures from European industry, research and institutions. And the Italian presence is anything but marginal. There is Andrea Pignataro, founder and CEO of Ion Group; there is Lucrezia Reichlin, an economist at the London Business School; there is Francesco Giavazzi, professor emeritus of economics at Bocconi; and there is Francesco Decarolis, professor of economics at Bocconi. Joining them is Vittorio Colao, former chief executive of Vodafone and now vice-chairman for EMEA at General Atlantic.