Former European Central Bank President and Italian premier Mario Draghi said Thursday that the European Union should be more assertive with President Donald Trump’s United States and adopt “pragmatic federalism” to be more decisive as he received the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen.

“The partner we still depend on has become more confrontational and unpredictable,” Draghi said.

“Europe has sought negotiation and compromise.

For the most part, it hasn’t worked.

“A posture designed to de-escalate is, instead, inviting further escalation.

“Europe needs the ability to respond more assertively to restore the partnership to a more equitable footing.

“What’s holding us back is security.

“The shift in America’s attitude toward European security shouldn’t be seen merely as a threat.

It’s also a necessary wake-up call.

“In a world where alliances are constantly evolving, every strategic dependency must now be re-examined.

“For the first time in living memory, we are truly alone together.

“Europe is reacting to this new reality. But it is doing so within a system that was never designed to address challenges of this magnitude.

“For the first time since 1949, here is the possibility that the United States may no longer guarantee our security under the conditions we once took for granted.

“Nor does China offer an alternative point of reference.

“Our current experience is that action at the level of the (EU) 27 often fails to deliver what the moment demands.

“The result is action that can be so inadequate to the scale of the challenge that it becomes worse than inaction.

“We must break this cycle.

“The countries that feel the weight of this moment most acutely, and understand that the window for action will not remain open indefinitely, must be free to move forward.

“This is what I have called pragmatic federalism”.