Mario Monti in the Financial Times: Europe must end its hypocrisy
In a column in the Financial Times, Mario Monti — honorary president of IEP Bocconi and former Italian prime minister and former EU commissioner — argues that “Europeans need to stop the hypocrisy to thrive”. Surrounded by powers led by authoritarian figures, “including, for the first time, the US”, the EU should be “proud to be the only large economic and political space sticking to the rule of law and multilateralism” and should call for “an alliance of values”.
Yet Monti warns that the Union risks undermining itself. It would be “suicidal if the union’s already limited authority were to be reduced further”. The first casualties would be “the single market and competitiveness” — precisely the issues under discussion at the European Council.
He calls for a spirit of “repentance”, denouncing a long-standing pattern of “political hypocrisy” between member states, EU institutions and business leaders. “Commitments are solemnly made but the next day the ingredients of economic nationalism” reappear. Unless this “vicious circle” is exposed, even landmark reports such as those by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi will have “little impact”.
With tariffs hitting the EU and multilateral trade rules eroding, the recommendations of those reports should be treated as “a bare minimum” and implemented faster. Instead, progress is “well behind the timeline originally set”. Another summit ending in overhyped “strong commitments” would fatally weaken EU credibility.
Monti is particularly critical of the joint German-Italian push for deregulation and looser state aid rules. While paying “lip service to the single market”, such moves risk deepening fragmentation. So-called “internal tariffs”, he notes, stem not from Brussels but from national governments failing to enforce common rules — “a recipe for winning votes, not for improving competitiveness”.
IEP@BU does not express opinions of its own. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.