SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Institutions: Ministry of Finance | NITI Aayog | Ministry of Commerce and Industry
European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board Member Isabel Schnabel delivered a speech on October 20, 2025, titled, “How to revive growth in Europe”. The speech highlighted that the Euro area has fallen behind on productivity due to missing the digital revolution compared to the US, and now faces intensified global competition from China, alongside persistently elevated energy costs.
To counter these structural threats, the ECB outlined three key, intertwined pillars essential for reviving long-term potential growth: Integration, Innovation, and Sovereignty. The ECB stressed that completing the Single Market Integration is crucial to enable firms to easily scale up across the EU and enhance financial market functioning. Innovation requires boosting risk capital for green and digital technologies. Furthermore, Sovereignty demands a step-up in defence spending, reducing external dependency on critical raw materials, and strengthening domestic payment systems to ensure resilience.
The ECB’s focus on countering competition from China and de-risking supply chains provides external validation for India’s Aatmanirbharta policy and reinforces the necessity of large, mission-mode investments in indigenous clean and digital technology to secure long-term strategic growth.
What is Single Market Integration in the Euro area?→ Single Market Integration refers to the core European Union policy aimed at ensuring the free movement of goods, services, capital, and labor within the member states, eliminating national barriers that restrict economic activity. The ECB highlighted that internal barriers are still holding back growth by limiting the ability of firms to easily scale up across borders, thereby reducing competition and overall productivity.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: What concrete institutional reforms should India fast-track to attract the necessary risk capital for green and digital technologies to close the innovation gap with advanced economies?
Follow the full news here: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2025/html/ecb.sp251020~4906856581.en.pdf