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EU Observer (15 September 2026)

Benjamin FOX

Ursula von der Leyen faces a delicate balancing act on Wednesday (16 September). 

Two years after a ‘State of the Union’ address that was dominated by anxiety about the EU’s economic competitiveness, following reports by Italian ex-premiers Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta that exposed huge investment and innovation gaps facing European industry, progress has been decidedly mixed. 

At last Friday’s (11 September) Riga Conference, EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told delegates that the commission’s so-called ‘Competitiveness Compass’, drawn up in early 2025, is about turning the Draghi report into policy. 

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