LosHechos

Thursday's summit on competitiveness brings the 27 EU leaders together at the Alden Biesen castle in eastern Belgium.

The 27 EU leaders have gathered for a full-day retreat focused on finding new ways to revive the bloc's stagnant economy, abolish regulatory barriers and attract investment in the face of competition from the US and China.

Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who authored an influential report on competitiveness, called on leaders to explore the use of enhanced cooperation to "move faster" in smaller groups of willing member states, an EU official said.

Enhanced cooperation was last used in December to issue a €90 billion loan to Ukraine without the participation of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Earlier this week, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, embraced the prospect of a two-speed Europe to break the political deadlock. (Euronews, 2026-02-12)