Initially, Mario Draghi’s report on the future of Europe’s competitiveness was expected to go out before the EU elections in June, but it was postponed until after summer, in September.

September, however, is also the month when the portfolios of the next EU Commission will take shape.

Some in Brussels suggest that the report may influence the shape of the next EU Commission’s portfolios.

A Brussels insider told Euractiv that von der Leyen cannot “avoid” Draghi’s report, as she personally requested it, and announced it at her 2023 State of the Union speech.

In Brussels circles, it is common knowledge that von der Leyen gives high praise to the former Italian prime minister, who she has described as “one of Europe’s great economic minds”.

In light of the potential return of Donald Trump, the rising competition with China, and broken relations with Russia, Europe’s already ailing competitiveness has come into the spotlight of future policies.

The report is expected to deliver a practical guide to strengthen EU competitiveness but officially, the details are unknown.

An indication could be a closed-door discussion with Draghi, at an EU Commission college meeting last January.

A source close to the matter told Euractiv that the bottom line of the meeting was that the Green Deal approach should be re-visited.

Von der Leyen allegedly asked EU Commissioners not to reveal any details of the conversation with Draghi.

At her speech at the EU House in July, the EU Commission chief insisted on delivering the targets of the Green Deal “with pragmatism”.

Her political centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the liberals have supported a “more realistic” approach, contrary to the EU socialists and the Greens who reject any step back from the Green Deal.

Also within the Commission, the green talks will be difficult, especially with the socialists’ Green Deal guard, with Spanish Commissioner nominee Teresa Ribera.

The Draghi report may give von der Leyen a roadmap of how the EU should move forward in the next five years, and in this event, it will inevitably reflect in the shaping of portfolios.

What is still to be seen, is whether Draghi’s “whatever it takes” approach will be applied to restore Europe’s competitiveness, 12 years later.

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The Roundup

As EU member states look to extend their training mission in Ukraine, the bloc’s diplomatic service (EEAS) has advised making the exercises more aligned with combat needs, given the growing gap between courses and battlefield reality.

Bulgarian parties must submit their nominations for the country’s new European Commissioner by the end of the week, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said on Monday, as continuing political instability and preparations for snap elections in October have delayed the process.

The European Commission proposed restrictive quotas in the Baltic Sea for all species except for herring while also calling for stricter application of EU fishing rules, on Monday (26 August).

China’s recent threats of retaliatory tariffs on European dairy products and gasoline vehicles following the EU’s imposition of provisional duties on Chinese electric vehicles are unlikely to escalate current trade tensions between Brussels and Beijing, analysts say.

Look out for…

• European Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica is meeting Croatian Minister for Demography and Immigration Ivan Sipic in Zagreb, Croatia.
• European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová is in Poland meeting various ministers