Independent tracker finds the EU has implemented only 26% of Draghi's reform recommendations

A critical progress report

The European Union has implemented 26% of the recommendations in Mario Draghi's 2024 competitiveness report, according to a new assessment published by the Joint European Disruptive Initiative. Euronews reported that none of the tracker’s 30 central policy measures had been fully executed and that only 30% were judged to be making substantial progress. The assessment counts implementation rather than political declarations or announced intentions.

The tracker records uneven movement across policy areas. Energy and raw materials scored 35%, while finance and investment, and the combined field of defence, space and artificial intelligence, each stood at 25%. Research and skills reached 21%, and health and life sciences 13%. Those figures represent the private initiative's methodology, not an official EU audit, but they offer a measurable challenge to the institutions' more positive account of their progress.

The official timetable

The European Parliament, Council and Commission signed their One Europe, One Market roadmap on April 24. It commits the institutions to concrete legislative and policy initiatives across rule simplification, single-market integration, trade, energy and digital transformation. The current official timetable calls for agreement on the roadmap's initiatives by the end of 2027, with monitoring intended to make delivery transparent.

A June review by the Council described the opening phase as a solid start and cited proposals launched, negotiating mandates secured and agreements reached. The Commission's public dashboard also lists completed measures alongside pending initiatives, including company-law reform, an industrial accelerator, energy legislation and measures affecting capital markets. The difference between the official account and the new tracker arises partly from the latter's insistence on completed execution rather than legislative activity.

Why implementation matters

Draghi's original diagnosis treated weak investment, fragmented markets and dependence on outside powers as strategic vulnerabilities, not merely questions of growth. Slow delivery therefore affects Europe's ability to scale technology companies, finance defence and infrastructure, reduce energy costs and compete with the United States and China. Some reforms require legislation and national implementation; others depend more heavily on coordination or political willingness.

The next meaningful test is whether the institutions convert proposals and negotiating mandates into enforceable rules on the published schedule. Quarterly reviews should make slippage easier to identify, while the independent tracker will test whether formal adoption produces implementation in practice. For readers, the key distinction is between an agenda being actively processed and its promised economic effects actually reaching companies, workers and investors.