Receiving an honorary degree from Ku Leuven University in Belgium, the former prime minister explained in his speech how ‘the failure of the system lies in what it was unable to correct’. Now the European Union must ‘take the necessary steps to become a power’, moving from a confederation to a federation.

This system, based on the combination of the protection provided by the US and the EU market, was able to bring concrete benefits to both, but has also entered a crisis after the emergence of new poles, such as Russia, India and, above all, China.

Europe is alone, but has never been so united

Draghi says it clearly: we are alone. Anticipating the speech he will give on 12 February at the informal meeting of EU heads of state and government together with Errico Letta. We have basically been abandoned by the US, which imposes tariffs and wants us divided (as revealed by the National Security Strategy), dependent on China “which controls critical nodes of global supply chains” and under pressure from Russia, which has repeatedly violated EU airspace with its drones.

But Draghi’s speech is not only to be read in a defeatist key; on the contrary, after highlighting the difficult situation in which we find ourselves, the former Prime Minister leaves us with a feeling of hope and awareness, stating that: “Of all those who are now trapped between the United States and China, only the Europeans have a chance to become a real power themselves”.

In fact, it is precisely when we act as a federation that we have great results: both theeuro, which in recent years has proven to be more stable and less inflated than the dollar, and the European market, which has become – especially after the latest trade agreements withIndia, Mercosur and New Zealand – the largest market in the world, are mentioned in the speech.

It was only by remaining united in the face of difficulties that, as Draghi tells us, ‘Europeans have discovered a solidarity that previously seemed unattainable’, and which must now be the basis for future, but necessary, changes.

What do we have to do to become a real power?

To become a power we must unite, and uniting means renouncing the confederation logic that still grips the Union in defence, foreign policy and fiscal matters.

To do this, finally overcoming mechanisms such as the veto, one must resort to a ‘pragmatic federalism’ that is clear in its direction, but aware of the steps that can be taken today.

Only in this way will Europe no longer risk becoming ‘subordinated, divided and de-industrialised’ and, consequently, unable to defend its interests and preserve its values.

A push for federation, no longer just promises

With this in mind, Draghi has the opportunity on 12 February to remind the members of the Council of the proposal approved by the European Parliament on 23 November 2023, which, referring toArticle 48 TEU, initiated the procedure for treaty reform.
This process did not go ahead because the request never entered the decision-making agenda of the European Council and was never discussed. Time, however, made quite a few Euro-sceptic governments change their position.

The most emblematic case is probably that of Poland, where in 2023 the pro-European Donald Tusk took the place of the national-conservative Mateusz Morawiecki (eurosceptic PiS party) at the head of the nation.

The vital obstacle of unanimity

What is blocking the process is theunanimity mechanism, the same one that blocked the entry into force of the European Constitution after the ‘no’ votes of France and the Netherlands in 2005, and which Draghi criticises by stating: “a group of states coordinating remains a group of states: each with a veto, each with its own logic, each vulnerable to being eliminated one by one.”

Ursula von der Leyen herself, in her ‘State of the Union’ speech in 2025, stated the need to move to qualified majority voting in key areas such as foreign policy, because unanimity severely limits the EU’s ability to act quickly and coherently.

“I think we should move to qualified majority voting in some areas, for example in foreign policy. It is time to free ourselves from the shackles of unanimity.”

The confrontation on 12 February could be a last resort to reaffirm the shared will to continue on the path towards federal unity, a response to the nascent world order that is antagonistic to us

For a strong, federal Europe.