How will Europe revive? What is its revival strategy? Does it have a comeback plan?

Is Europe facing slow decline or a strategic reboot? Inside the EU’s ambitious revival blueprint

January 30, 2026

From joint EU debt to tech mega-funds, Europe’s leaders are betting big to avoid economic decline

If not, who will save Europe?

Europe’s “revival strategy” is currently centered on a series of radical reforms aimed at preventing what former ECB President Mario Draghi calls a “slow agony.” The core of this comeback plan is the Draghi Report (2024/2025) — Mario Draghi, “The Future of European Competitiveness” [1].

It is complemented by the EU Competitiveness Compass, formally laid out in the European Commission’s “Competitiveness Compass & Agenda” (2025) [2], which translates the Draghi diagnosis into policy priorities across investment, industry, energy, and technology.

The Strategy: “The Draghi Pivot”

Massive Investment: A call for €800 billion to €1.2 trillion in annual investment (roughly 5% of EU GDP) to fund the “Twin Transition” (Green & Digital), as outlined in the Draghi Report [1].
Strategic Autonomy: Reducing dependence on the US for defense and China for critical raw materials (lithium, rare earths) and AI chips, a framework reinforced by analysis from the Bruegel Think Tank’s “Strategic Autonomy and Industrial Policy in Europe” [3].
Energy Reform: Decoupling electricity prices from gas prices to lower costs for energy-intensive industries — a key priority identified in the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass & Agenda (2025) [2].
Innovation Scale-up: Creating a “Savings and Investment Union” to keep European startups from moving to the US for capital, aligned with the European Investment Bank’s “Annual Results 2025: Powering Europe,” which outlines the EIB’s repositioning as a European Tech & Climate Bank [4].

Who will “Save” Europe?

The “saviors” are envisioned as a coalition of institutional leaders and “European Champions“:

The Technocrats: Leaders like Ursula von der Leyen and Mario Draghi pushing for joint EU debt, reflecting ideas advanced in both the Draghi Report and the European Commission’s competitiveness agenda[1], [2].
The Financiers: The European Investment Bank (EIB), which is rebranding as the “European Tech & Climate Bank”[4].
The Innovators: New “Mega-funds” like the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) designed to scale unicorns within the continent, an approach consistent with arguments made by Enrico Letta in “Much More Than a Market” (Single Market Report 2024) [5].

Europe’s revival hinges on investment, energy reform, and tech sovereignty

References:

[1] The future of European competitiveness: Report by Mario Draghi – European Commission – commission.europa.eu

[2] Competitiveness compass – European Commission, Competitiveness Compass & Agenda (2025) – commission.europa.eu

[3] EU strategic autonomy and industrial policy – May 12, 2023, bruegel.org

[4] Powering Europe – The European Investment Bank Group 2025 Activity Report – eib.org

[5] Enrico Letta, Much More Than a Market (Single Market Report 2024) – consilium.europa.eu, April 2024

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