Published Online:April 2025
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Knowledge Management
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJKM020425
DOI:10.71329/IUPJKM/2025.23.2.27-49
Author Name:Magdolna Csath
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Management
Download Format:PDF
Pages:27-49
It has been held quite for some time that the European Union (EU) is losing competitiveness. The process has quickened recently because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, energy problems and the growing competitiveness of Chinese products on the global stage. The EU also suffers from internal turbulence and leadership weaknesses. Two prominent political leaders—Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta—were asked to analyze EU’s problems and offer solutions. This study examines the reports submitted by Draghi and Letta and the competitiveness pact, and contrasts them with the basic theoretical foundations of competitiveness, and also with some key competitiveness data of a few more and less developed EU countries. The conclusion of the study points out that, first of all, competitiveness is not well defined from a theoretical point of view. The point here is how to properly understand competitiveness of an entity which is not a business and consists of mainly independent actors. Second, the development gaps among these independent actors are so large, that the suggested solutions may not be sufficient for improving the competitiveness of the entity, the EU. Also, the key weakness of the solutions is that they do not focus on the most important competitiveness factor: knowledge investment and knowledge management. Competitiveness improvement is planned to be achieved basically through investment in technologies.
Two recent reports—“The Future of European Competitiveness” by Mario Draghi (2024) and “Much More Than a Market: Speed, Security, Solidarity” by Enrico Letta (2024)—point out that the competitiveness of the EU has been declining for a longer time. Recent geopolitical and technological events have only quickened the decline. This is shown on the