The former European Central Bank president says the EU must act quickly and invest heavily so as not to fall behind.

European finance ministers meet in Ghent, Belgium. The main focus of the meeting is on the second anniversary of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but Italian economist Mario Draghi says in his article that the EU and Europe are facing a bad time if they want to keep up.

– There have been many profound changes in recent years in the global economy. These changes have many consequences. One is that we have to invest huge amounts in a relatively short time in Europe, Draghi says, according to Bloomberg.

He led the European Central Bank from 2011 to 2019, before becoming Prime Minister of Italy. He is now working on a report on how the EU can become more competitive.

The war in Ukraine has made defense investments a top priority for many heads of state.

– Draghi says: – I look forward to a discussion about what finance ministers are thinking and preparing for how to finance these needs.

Last week, it became known that 18 of the 32 NATO countries have now achieved the target of spending 2% of the country's GDP on defence. Norway is not one of the countries.

If Donald Trump wins the US election later this year, it will create uncertainty around NATO, with Trump recently warning that he will not honor the NATO agreement towards countries that have not met the target.

One idea on how to boost defense investments is for EU countries to take on debt together.

– European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said: “It is clear that the European Union must focus more on defense capabilities, and we must act in the same way.”