Mario Nava's European Dream: If the EU Manages to Raise the Bar, We'll All Be Better Off

He is among the most influential Italians in Brussels, he's spent 29 years in Europe's capital to accelerate the integration of the 27 member countries composing the Union. Mario Nava made the dream he had as a young Bocconi student come true: "Working in Europe and having an impact on people's lives". Not an easy goal to attain. Today he is at the helm of DG Reform, the latest creation among the general directorates of the EU, and in the past he worked alongside Mario Monti, when he was Commissioner for Competition, and Romano Prodi, when was President of the Commission.

Mario Nava, you get to see Europe up close: how is the Union faring?
This is my eleventh job in 29 years I has spent in Brussels. If I may use a calembour, I would say that Europe is better than yesterday, but less well than it will be tomorrow. In these thirty years we have had an evolution and now when crisis strikes we are all Europeans. We have seen it with Covid and with the war in Ukraine, but also on specific issues such as migration, that Europe's intervention is invoked. In three decades I have seen the European Union's perimeter of action progressively expand: the joint procurement of vaccines would have been unthinkable until three years ago and also the Eurobonds issued to finance the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) were a taboo. Our own work at DG Reform, a sort of joint procurement of technical expertise, was unimaginable until five years ago. There is a progressive increase in European integration and this is not due to ideological factors: it is a simple economic and social necessity.

We cannot just wait for crises to make progress.
This is why we try to make long-term designs. We are doing this by anticipating the next crises, and it's clear to everyone what they will be: the environmental crisis and the climate crisis. We want to anticipate the response, with objectives for 2030 and 2050, and try to ensure that member states converge on the EU's positions. But as the Eurobarometer polling opinion reveals, citizens expect Europe to respond to crises. When everything goes well, our national government can satisfy us, but when the crisis is much larger, the EU becomes fundamental.

What is the work of DG Reform?
It is a fairly new directorate general, as it was founded in 2020. But it is also innovative in its conception: we bring technical help to member states to carry out structural reforms, transferring knowledge and experience. An idea that was implemented at the time of the Greek-Cypriot crisis and was then progressively extended to all countries. It is not a remedial course for less proficient students, but a master class: member states ask for support, we organize the work, we granulate all the efforts and accompany the countries along the way. We work on 170 projects a year, many of which are multi-country.

What type of reform have you contributed to writing in Italy?
There is a very clear example, which moreover originated at Bocconi: that of Italy's capital market reform. DG Reform, with the help of the OECD, prepared a report in 2020 identifying what needed to be done, this report was slowly digested bye national authorities who began working on it with the Green Book on capital markets. After some interactions, in 2023 Italy prepared the DDL Capitali which is currently going through Parliament. It is an interesting example because it comes from the work done by DG Reform in 2020 which has continued over time. If we had stopped, not much would have happened, but instead we continued working on it, because for us it is important that the support provided turns into a concrete reality.

Next Generation EU gives ample room to investments but equal importance to structural reforms. How does your DG support national governments?
On this there is a beautiful phrase by Ursula von Der Leyen who at Bocconi said that reforms are the engine of Europe and that investments are the fuel. National recovery plans constitute two thirds of our work, we support the member states in designing the reforms and we verify the steps undertaken to implement the projects.

Is there the need of common reforms within the EU?
Yes, there are common traits regarding digital, attention to social issues and sustainability. Europe is a social market economy and what we want is that everyone is enabled to truly make the green and digital transitions, not just those who can afford investments in solar panels or connectivity. Another common trait, whose importance was revealed by Covid, is the need to strengthen public administrations: the pandemic has shown that without public authorities capable of translating ideas into practical actions, it becomes difficult to implement any plan. It is an additional difficulty because public administrations, in addition to providing services, must now increasingly act as leaders in project management.

How can Europe weather the risks that threaten its future?
Consistency is certainly an important aspect. This virtue has so far allowed Europe to present itself on capital markets with an image that exactly reflects its current identity: world leader in the green transition and digital transformation, with attention to social issues. Consistency across markets is key. President Ursula Von der Leyen, during her recent State of the Union Address, emphasized competitiveness, with the report on it being assigned to Mario Draghi, and on geopolitical issues, with additional enlargement we will have to deal with in the coming years. An aspect that plays out externally, towards the countries that will join the EU, and internally, because it presupposes changes necessary to welcome the new members.

In your CV there is an unusual detail that struck me: your passion for football. You have been a player and a coach: is there something of sports you bring into your work?
I have been an AC Inter fan for 58 years, that is, since before I was born. I love sports and it certainly brought me discipline, timeliness and management of stress that sport teaches. It especially teaches that every activity we do is never an end in itself.


Biography
Mario Nava, born in 1966, is Alumnus of the Year 2023 at Bocconi University. Born in Milan, he graduated in 1989 with a thesis in Financial Mathematics. Attracted by Europe, in the nineties he began his thirty-year career in Brussels and in 2018 he had a few months as president of Consob. "I always advise Bocconi students not to be among the lions and to study hard from the beginning: it is one of the places in the world where the coolest are also the best. Those who have just graduated must often return to university and maintain contact with former students: it is a network of friendships that lasts a lifetime. It takes rigor, study and respect for others."