The European Union is "failing to match the speed of change" in the United States and China and must act urgently on economic reforms to avoid falling further behind, a key report's author said Tuesday.

One year after former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi delivered stark warnings -- and hundreds of recommendations -- in a milestone 400-page report for the bloc, he urged Europe to break its "complacency".

While Draghi welcomed the EU executive's push on competitiveness, which Brussels has made its top priority along with defence, he said citizens were "disappointed by how slowly the EU moves."

"They see us failing to match the speed of change elsewhere," said Draghi, a former Italian prime minister.

"Competitors in the US and China are far less constrained, even when acting wi

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