Enrico Letta on European Competitiveness

Enrico Letta views European competitiveness as fundamentally reliant on overcoming the fragmentation of the current Single Market, a core theme of his commissioned report. He argues that the Single Market is only half-completed, with critical areas like financial services, telecom, and energy remaining fragmented across 27 national markets, which results in significant weakness on the global stage. His central proposal is to finish the fundamental work of integration to achieve the necessary scale for security and competitiveness, warning that failing to do so will perpetuate dependence on external powers.

This push for deeper integration involves several key reforms, most notably the proposal for a Savings and Investment Union (SIU) to bridge household savings with private investment in strategic areas like infrastructure and innovation, moving beyond the older Capital Markets Union concept. He also supports the development of a new legal framework, the '28th regime,' to allow innovative businesses to operate seamlessly across all member states. Letta stresses that private sector advocacy is necessary to push national governments and EU institutions toward these brave, more integrated reforms, framing integration not as an ideological choice but as a pragmatic necessity for survival and prosperity.