Interview with Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Lorenzo Torrisi on 10 August 2026

24 August 2026

What can be done to try to strengthen European firms, now that they are once again facing challenges because of external shocks?

First and foremost, we should try to capitalise on our advantages – the main one being the huge European Single Market. This can enable firms to expand their business, thereby achieving economies of scale that in turn reduce production costs – particularly in IT, finance and traditional manufacturing sectors such as the automotive sector. However, as is well documented in the reports by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, we are unable to exploit this advantage because of restrictions on the free movement of goods and services even within the European Single Market. They prevent firms from expanding and achieving the level of efficiency that would allow the EU to compete with the other global giants.

Therefore, the first task…