Reactions
The report had been eagerly awaited by some, [16] and initial reactions from think-tankers were mixed, [17] while The Economist compared the plan's scope to the 1948 Marshall Plan. [18] A report out of Chatham House opined that "Stark recommendations in the Draghi report risk being thwarted by a European leadership vacuum – and a lacking sense of urgency." [6]
Critics pointed to a lack of representation of the stakeholders consulted in the creation of the report. Central and Eastern Europe as well as the civil society and trade unions were underrepresented, causing it to focus too much on core European countries and on business interests, and addressing social and ecological challenges with fewer points of view only. [19]
French economist Thomas Piketty welcomed the Draghi report as "going in the right direction" and "having the immense merit of overturning the dogma of fiscal austerity". [20]
Italian economist Lucrezia Reichlin wrote: "According to Draghi, the challenges Europe is facing are nothing short of existential." [21]
Draghi Observatory
In September 2025, one year after the publication of the Draghi report, the European Policy Innovation Council (EPIC), a Brussels-based think tank, launched the Draghi Observatory & Implementation Index to monitor how far the European Union had delivered on the report’s recommendations. [22]
The Observatory’s first audit found that out of 383 recommendations, only 43 (11.2%) had been fully implemented, with 77 (20.1%) partially implemented, 176 (46.0%) still in progress, and 87 (22.7%) untouched.2 The results suggested that, even counting partial progress, the EU had achieved only about one-third of Draghi’s agenda in the first year. [23] [24]
EPIC’s analysis showed uneven progress across sectors. Transport (26.8% implemented) and critical raw materials (33.3%) were the most advanced, while areas such as clean technologies, digitalisation, and energy saw little or no full implementation. [25] According to Antonios Nestoras, EPIC’s executive director, the findings underscored Europe’s lagging position in future technologies, arguing that “instead of backing our remaining ‘Made in Europe’ excellence, we keep churning out world-class bureaucratic cages and regulatory mazes.” [26]
The initiative was described as the first systematic accountability tool of its kind at EU level, modelled on instruments such as Canada’s Polimeter and the U.S. PolitiFact Truth-O-Meter. It evaluates progress on each recommendation as if it were a political pledge, relying on a panel of more than 120 experts to ensure geographical and sectoral balance.
Conference: One Year After the Draghi Report
The September 2025 Conference saw Draghi himself pessimistic: Every challenge he had pointed out in his report had worsened. [27] Von der Leyen stressed the EU's Competitiveness [28] Compass and Agenda [29] saying that "Every single Member State has endorsed the Draghi report. And so has the European Parliament." [30] She regretted IMF analysis results of "internal barriers" within the Single Market, "equivalent to a 45% tariff on goods and a 110% tariff on services". [30] The Commission is looking towards 2028 for completion [31] of the single market. [32]
Job and market share loss to non-market economies will have to be reduced, von der Leyen insisted. [30] Meanwhile Draghi had called for a pause on European AI rules to assess potential drawbacks. [33] The AI Act, fully applicable in 2027, being “a source of uncertainty”, Draghi once again promoted "common debt for common projects”. [33]
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