European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen holds Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi's report on EU competitiveness and recommendations, as they attend a press conference, in Brussels, on Sept. 9, 2024.
The central problem, Draghi says in his report, is that the EU lacks a “foreign economic policy” that aligns the continent’s trade agenda with geopolitical realities. The report highlights Europe’s dependence on China for critical minerals and warns that some 40% of European imports are vulnerable to geopolitics-related supply interruptions. Europe’s trade openness, arguably one of its greatest economic assets, also leaves it vulnerable to unfair Chinese practices, such as subsidizing producers who can then undercut European ones.