At the award ceremony, prominent figures including Friedrich Merz and Kyriakos Mitsotakis lauded Draghi’s contributions to European stability. Draghi emphasized the necessity for deeper economic integration and substantial investments in energy and digital infrastructure to enhance competitiveness, warning that Europe risks falling behind global powers. He reiterated calls for joint European borrowing amidst ongoing negotiations regarding the EU’s budget framework for 2028-2034, reflecting themes from his 2024 report advocating for significant annual investments to bolster the bloc’s economic resilience.