Overview

• Speaking in Rimini, the former ECB president said the European Commission had promised a plan this year to curb internal duties and backed a proposed “28th regime” to let small firms operate EU‑wide without opening local branches.
• He cited IMF estimates that lowering intra‑EU barriers to U.S. levels could raise labor productivity by about 7% over seven years, compared with roughly 2% in recent years.
• On semiconductors, he contrasted U.S. projects worth $30–65 billion with European efforts typically at €2–3 billion, warning that nation‑by‑nation subsidies fragment priorities.
• Draghi argued that only common European debt can fund very large cross‑border investments spanning defense, infrastructure and critical technologies.
• He highlighted plans for about €2 trillion in additional defense spending through 2031 and described internal market frictions as tariff‑equivalents of 64% on machinery and 95% on metals.