De Felice: autonomy and capital at the core of Europe’s future challenges

Gregorio De Felice highlighted that Europe is particularly exposed on three strategic fronts:

• higher energy costs compared with other major global economies, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions
• delays in technological development and artificial intelligence
• difficulties in retaining and enhancing private savings, often invested outside the European Union

“On energy – De Felice pointed out – Europe is paying more than all other major global powers for the effects of the conflict in Iran. On digital, it is lagging in technological capabilities and artificial intelligence. On domestic productive investment, it struggles to retain and transform its large stock of private savings, which remains inactive or is largely invested in the United States, financing growth and innovation outside the EU.”

On the investment front, the European Union has launched a strengthening path through the Savings and Investments Union project. The initiative aims to create an efficient system to connect European savings with internal investment needs, “overcoming national barriers and harmonising rules”.

This is a structural transformation that involves:

• greater risk sharing
• strengthening capital markets
• an active role for institutional investors.

“For an effective transformation that makes Europe more autonomous and better able to respond to global economic shocks – De Felice explained – the path is still long, but it could start from three essential actions”:

• structural public investments for the green transition, digitalisation and defence, supported by common tools
• policies to increase productivity through innovation and research
• demographic and social measures, including welfare, talent attraction and higher labour participation.

Gregorio De Felice stressed that current European governance, although sophisticated, often results in slow decision-making and uncertainty, limiting the effectiveness of economic policies.

“Europe needs to move from a reactive to a proactive approach – De Felice stated – from crisis-driven integration to a long-term strategy. This requires a clear political and economic narrative that defines Europe’s role and identity in the world, with choices involving trade-offs and a redefinition of the relationship between European and national levels.”

Another critical issue is regulatory and legal fragmentation, which hampers the scalability of European companies and global competitiveness.

The success of the European project depends on the coherence between objectives and tools and on the speed of policy implementation.

“The main challenge is to mobilise and direct European capital towards domestic investment, preventing significant resources from financing development elsewhere. The step change is therefore both political and technical, requiring greater financial integration and regulatory harmonisation”: only in this way, according to De Felice, will it be possible to transform “Europe into a relevant and competitive global player.”

Gregorio De Felice spoke at the Treviso Città Impresa Festival – of which Intesa Sanpaolo is a main sponsor – took place on 29 March 2026.