A former ECB chief says the lack of access to cheap energy from Russia has undermined the bloc’s competitive advantage

The global economic competitiveness of the European Union has been substantially eroded due to the loss of cheap energy from Russia, former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said on Monday.

A wide-ranging report presented by Draghi indicated that reducing energy prices, raising competitiveness, and strengthening defense investment are among the top priorities for the bloc’s policymakers.

According to the politician, who served as Italy’s prime minister in 2021-2022, member states have been struggling to cope with higher energy prices and can no longer rely on open foreign markets.

“Europe has abruptly lost its most important supplier of energy, Russia,” Draghi said, emphasising that geopolitical stability was waning, while the region’s “dependencies have turned out to be vulnerabilities.”

The politician and economist acknowledged that energy prices have considerably fallen from their peaks, but stressed that EU companies are still dealing with electricity prices that are 150% higher than those in the US, while paying nearly 350% more for natural gas....more below

https://www.rt.com/business/603712-draghi-eu-energy-prices-warning/