Enrico Letta Calls for a Europe-wide Sovereignty Strategy to Compete with the United States and China

Former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta, now dean of IE University and president of the Jacques Delors Institute, told Euronews that “national sovereignty is like sending a gift to the Americans and the Chinese.” He argued that the appropriate scale for competitiveness is the European one, stating that “the true battle is for European sovereignty.” Letta maintains that deeper integration can preserve national identities while strengthening the bloc’s global position.

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Letta’s remarks build on his 2024 report *Much More Than a Market*, which urged the creation of an energy union, digital-services integration, and the end of fragmented capital markets. The report inspired the “One Europe, One Market” roadmap discussed by Letta and ministers at the General Affairs Council in Brussels on Tuesday. He linked the recent acceleration of these reforms to the “Greenland crisis,” referring to former President Donald Trump’s attempt to acquire the mineral-rich Danish territory, which Letta said pushed European leaders to act decisively on the two reports.

Euronews

A central demand of Letta’s report is the establishment of a Savings and Investments Union (SIU) to channel private capital into the real economy. He highlighted that the EU holds roughly €33 trillion in private savings, yet about €300 billion of household savings are currently invested abroad, mainly in the United States. Letta contended that “we are the continent of savings and savers. We are top in that, but we use our savings very badly,” and that “putting savings in the Savings and Investments accounts, a European label of savings, will give them a better return than what they have today.” He also recalled Europe’s past tech success, noting that “in the 90s, we used to sell our mobile phones to American consumers,” and called for renewed private investment to revive European innovation.

Euronews

• “National sovereignty is like sending a gift to the Americans and the Chinese,” — Enrico Letta, former Italian prime minister

Euronews

• “the true battle is for European sovereignty.” — Enrico Letta

Euronews

• “We are top in that, but we use our savings very badly," Letta said.” — Enrico Letta

Euronews

• “Putting savings in the Savings and Investments accounts, a European label of savings, will give them a better return than what they have today," Letta explained.” — Enrico Letta

Euronews

• “In the 90s, we used to sell our mobile phones to American consumers.” — Enrico Letta

Euronews