Draghi sees European industry managers: 'Meeting went well'. Van Boxmeer: road map for competitiveness

Former Prime Minister Mario Draghi left Bankitalia's Milan headquarters after the meeting with European Roundtable for Industry (Ert) managers. A few words from Draghi, who appeared satisfied in the face, and when asked how the meeting had gone he replied: 'well'.

The summit with representatives of Ert was aimed at producing a report on the competitiveness of European industry, which will be presented after the European elections. The meeting lasted about three hours and was attended by the chairman of Ert and Vodafone Group, Jean-Francois van Boxmeer; Dimitri Papalexopoulos, chairman of Titan Cement Group; Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay; Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of Siemens; and Jacob Wallenberg, chairman of Investor AB. The meeting was also attended by Vittorio Colao, former minister for technological innovation and digital transition.

Shortly before entering the Bankitalia headquarters to kick off the meeting, former Prime Minister Mario Draghi had emphasised: 'This is one of the many meetings we are holding. This one is held in Milan and it is with Ert, the association of chairmen and CEOs of the largest European industrial groups. So, today it is industry. And I listen'. The document Draghi is working on should show the EU the strategy to compete in the great manufacturing and technological challenge between superpowers, on which the United States and China are investing billions of dollars.

The report being prepared by Mario Draghi and expected "immediately after the European elections" is "very important and will be the road map for the next European Commission to improve Europe's competitiveness". So said the president of the Ert (an association that also includes Gianfelice Rocca of Techint, Claudio Descalzi of Eni, Rodolfo De Benedetti of Cir, but who were not in the delegation and did not attend the meeting) and president of the Vodafone group, Jean-Francois van Boxmeer as he left the meeting with the former prime minister. "It is a very broad agenda. I cannot speak for Draghi. We came here to give him input on European industry. We represent,' recalls the president of Ert, '60 large companies throughout Europe. We came here to say what is needed to be more competitive in the future and to succeed in the green transition that we have to achieve in Europe'.

As far as priorities are concerned, 'there are many and, if it were simple, the biggest challenge is to succeed in the energy transition. At the same time we have to preserve,' he points out, 'the competitiveness of our companies in order to compete with the rest of the world such as China and the US and keep up on the innovation front. It is a delicate balance I believe we will have to take several measures in the future. We came to give our input on these issues. Draghi listened to us and they will be input for his plan. There will be more,' he concludes.