In an extensive four-page interview with the Italian magazine L’Espresso, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of National Economy and Finance and President of the Eurogroup, sends a clear message that Europe must invest more in itself, reduce its strategic dependencies, and move more swiftly in an increasingly competitive world.
From energy security and technological sovereignty to the digital euro, Mr. Pierrakakis emphasizes that Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy will be determined by its ability to move from discussion to action.
Among other things, Kyriakos Pierrakakis states:
On fiscal flexibility regarding investments in the energy sector:
“The European Commission’s initial position was that there would be no deviation from fiscal rules and that every decision would be made based on actual conditions and the severity of the crisis originating in the Middle East.
As the months went by, it became clear that we were not facing the most favorable possible scenario and that the crisis was continuing.
That is why the Commission moved toward greater fiscal flexibility—always within the existing regulatory framework—in order to support energy investments.
The International Monetary Fund presented data to the Eurogroup showing that temporary, targeted, and well-designed measures are the most effective, as well as the most socially equitable. In contrast, across-the-board measures primarily benefit higher-income groups.
However, there is a second, even more interesting finding. According to the IMF, investments already made in energy infrastructure reduced the impact of the current energy crisis by 12%.
This shows that there is a direct link between short-term and long-term planning: what we do today must also serve our long-term goals.
This 12% explains why the European Commission decided to allow this additional budgetary flexibility for investments in the energy sector.”
Regarding the measures that can be taken in this context
“Discussions are still ongoing, but the measures should help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. This could involve major investment projects in renewable energy sources or in electricity grid infrastructure.
They could also include subsidies for households and businesses to replace heating systems that run on natural gas or heating oil with heat pumps and solar panels, as well as incentives for electric vehicles.”
On the common industrial policy
“I believe that technology must be at the center of this discussion.
We need a common understanding of what ‘sovereignty’ really means.
In my view, sovereignty should not be equated with self-sufficiency or complete autonomy.
We must identify the sectors in which we can strengthen our industrial champions and transform them into truly European champions, not merely national ones. At the same time, we must recognize those sectors where we can gain a competitive advantage, even if we do not currently have one.
We have achieved this in some cases in the past, but it is not possible to do so everywhere. We must carefully select the sectors that are truly strategic for our success and for strengthening Europe’s economic sovereignty.
In other sectors, we must recognize that sovereignty is not necessarily achieved through ownership of assets, but through control and a smart regulatory framework.”
On what “control” means
“Let’s take the cloud as an example.
Two-thirds of the European cloud services market is currently controlled by American tech giants, while there is not yet a truly European leader.
In this case, a smart regulatory approach—for example, the ability to transfer data from one provider to another at zero or near-zero cost—could be part of the solution.
If available resources are limited, we must direct our investments toward companies that have the potential to become European champions and global competitors.
Entire ecosystems must be built around these companies.
Without a clear strategy for where we invest, it is difficult to address issues such as artificial intelligence.
The goal, however, is not to create a European version of everything. We do not have the resources for that.”
To illustrate this with an example
“Let’s consider the role played by ASML in the Netherlands or Mistral AI in France.
One of my favorite examples is 5G infrastructure.
During the period of global competition between the United States and China over 5G, Europe had two world-class industrial champions: Ericsson and Nokia.
We could have seized this opportunity to create an entire industrial ecosystem around these companies, had there been a truly unified European telecommunications market.
Instead, we still have 27 different national regulatory authorities.
The CEO of Deutsche Telekom has to coordinate with many different regulatory authorities across Europe, whereas in the United States, T-Mobile only has to deal with a single federal regulatory authority.
This fragmentation is a major obstacle.
In Greece, we allocated 25% of the revenue from spectrum auctions to the creation of an investment fund, which then financed startups operating in the 5G ecosystem.
However, Greece alone does not have the necessary scale to achieve the results that are needed.
The ideal scenario would have been to hold a single European spectrum auction and invest that same 25% across the entire European Union.
We could thus create a large European investment fund to finance startups across the entire single market that are developing 5G-related technologies.
Had we done so, we would have established a genuine European industrial policy in a sector where we already had a competitive advantage.
The International Monetary Fund has estimated that the cost of existing barriers in the services sector is equivalent to a 110% tariff between member states.
We must remove these barriers to create more growth and more jobs.”
Regarding the Savings and Investment Union
“All the legislation and regulatory initiatives we are promoting—including those related to European pension products—are aimed precisely at removing these barriers.
It’s not always easy for citizens to understand what this means in their daily lives.
If we ask, “What has Europe done for you?”, most people will mention free roaming, Erasmus, or the Structural Funds.
But the Savings and Investment Union can mean so much more: a startup that truly takes on a European dimension, idle savings channeled into productive investments, and larger, stronger European banks.”
What is the euro lacking in order to compete with the dollar and the yuan as a global currency?
“We are witnessing the overall digitization of the global financial system.
The United States has chosen a strategy based on private-sector innovation and stablecoins.
They have chosen not to create a public digital dollar.
Europe, on the other hand, has chosen to create a public digital infrastructure by 2029: the digital euro.
Private innovation will then be able to flourish on top of this infrastructure and the corresponding regulatory framework.
Today, approximately 95% of stablecoins worldwide are pegged to the dollar, while less than 1% are pegged to the euro.
“That is why the digital euro project is of such great strategic importance.”
On the public’s willingness to accept change
“I served as Minister of Digital Governance in Greece from 2019 to 2023. When we started, Greece was probably the most bureaucratic country in Europe. Today, we have digitized more than 2,200 public services through a single platform.
When people asked me how we would convince citizens of the value of this digital transformation, I always gave the same answer:
The only way to convince them is to put it into practice.
When citizens see tangible results, that’s when change is accepted.
Thus, digitization has become one of the most popular reforms in Greece’s modern history.”
On whether the digital euro will strengthen European sovereignty
“Undoubtedly yes.
But first, we must all agree on what we mean when we talk about ‘sovereignty.’ In Europe, we often use this word, but not always with the same meaning. For some, it means autonomy. For others, it means control. For still others, it means ownership.
We need a common understanding.
Only then can we develop a common strategy.
Europe today faces a “share of the obvious”: the Savings and Investment Union, the removal of internal barriers, the creation of a truly European industrial policy, and the strengthening of technological sovereignty. All of these are part of the same strategy. The time has come to put this into action.”
Regarding allegations of mismanagement of European funds
“As soon as we identified problems in the management of agricultural subsidies, we decided to intervene. We transferred the relevant responsibilities to the Independent Public Revenue Authority, an institution that has already demonstrated significant results in the fight against tax evasion.
We recognized the problem, discussed it publicly, and sought the support of the European institutions.”