“Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough.” These 23 words spoken by Mario Draghi, as president of the European Central Bank in July 2012, assuaged the panic then engulfing the euro. Last week, the same man released 393 pages on The Future of European Competitiveness.

As president of the ECB, Draghi confronted an immediate crisis with instruments he possessed. Today, however, he is advising frightened politicians, beleaguered bureaucrats and a disenchanted public on why and how to make a huge effort. The aim is, once again, to save the European project he loves from what he labels an “existential challenge”.

In the words of his report: “If Europe cannot become more productive, we will be forced to choose. We will not be able to become at once, a leader in new technologies, a beacon of climate responsibility and an independent player on the world stage. We will not be able to finance our social model. We will have to scale back some, if not all, of our ambitions.” In sum, the EU risks failure.