Can European industry regain its competitive edge on the global stage? A new EU report penned by former ECB chief Mario Draghi highlights a growing gap in both productivity and innovation, and warns that businesses will face an "existential challenge" without drastic change and significant investment. Tim Figures, a partner and associate director at the Boston Consulting Group, believes the proposals "turn challenges into opportunities for growth and improved productivity in the European economy". He spoke to FRANCE 24's Kate Moody.
Figures says that tariffs – like the tit-for-tat measures enacted by the EU and China on electric vehicles and brandy imports – can help provide "short-term breathing space for European industry to innovate".
However, he adds: "On their own, they're not a mechanism that will deliver the kind of changes that we need to see to maintain European competitiveness; they need to be seen alongside a whole raft of other measures, as Mr Draghi sets out in his report."
