FORMER head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi has declared that the European nation-state is ‘obsolete’ and that only a United States of Europe can ensure the continent’s survival in a world dominated by superpowers.
Speaking at a major gathering in Rimini, Italy, the former banker decried that Europe’s 450 million consumers had long been expected to translate into global power.
Instead, he argued, 2025 would be remembered as the year that illusion finally vanished.
He pointed to Washington’s decision to impose tariffs on European goods, alongside pressure to raise defence spending, saying these steps were dictated by US interests rather than Europe’s.
Despite providing the largest financial support for Ukraine, Draghi said the EU had played only a marginal role in efforts to secure peace.
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Turning to China, he warned that Beijing had openly backed Moscow’s war effort while flooding Europe with cheap exports and using rare earths to tighten Europe’s dependence.
“China has made it clear it does not consider Europe an equal partner,” he said.
Draghi urged the EU to embrace common borrowing to fund strategic priorities such as defence, energy infrastructure and disruptive technologies — projects too big for single countries to finance alone.
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“Good debt funds investment that transforms economies,” he told the audience, adding that only pan-European projects could generate the scale needed to justify borrowing.
Closing his speech, Draghi drew a standing ovation as he argued that Europe must integrate far more deeply if it is to have global weight.
“The nation-state in Europe is obsolete. We must move towards a United States of Europe to ensure our relevance and security,” he said to rapturous applause.
Draghi, 77, is best known for his tenure as president of the European Central Bank between 2011 and 2019, when his pledge to do ‘whatever it takes’ is credited with saving the euro at the height of the sovereign debt crisis.
He later served as Italy’s prime minister from 2021 to 2022, leading a unity government through the pandemic.
Though he currently holds no official office, Draghi remains one of Europe’s most influential voices.
His calls for radical reform of the EU, including joint borrowing for defence, energy and technology, have kept him at the centre of debates over how Europe should respond to US tariffs, China’s rise and the war in Ukraine.
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Draghi has always excelled at thinking outside the box, and here is another good example. It makes sense to see the EU move towards a USE as an obvious next step of cohesion. Defence of the EU against armed aggression can only be effectively managed from a single body who does not have to rely on decisions at member states level for financing.
Bravo Draghi.
Except you cannot have people like Von der Leyen presiding…. the EU needs a democratically elected leader who is capable and not biased as she is.