European heads of state and government came together in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss ways to heighten the European Union's (EU) economic competitiveness. At the special summit, they were issued a stark warning that the EU's economic performance was falling behind that of other key global players, most notably the United States and China.

In a final joint statement, EU leaders spoke of a new European competitiveness deal and reforming the EU single market. "The European Union is commited to acting decisively to ensure its long-term competitiveness, prosperity and leadership on the global stage and to strengthen its strategic sovereignty."

Mindful of huge subsidies being disbursed in other key nations, such as Washington's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the EU had tasked former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta with drawing up a report on the health of the EU's single market. The central question underpinning it all was how to boost public and private investment.

Presenting his findings on Thursday, Letta's main pitch to leaders was that they should more closely integrate........

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