Europe’s Competitiveness Shell Game
Little more than a decade ago, EU leaders unveiled the “Lisbon Agenda,” a policy blueprint to make Europe “the most competitive, knowledge-based economy in the world.” Now, in a desperate effort to save the euro, France and Germany have proposed a “Competitiveness Pact,” which reprises the Lisbon Agenda's fatal flaws.
BRUSSELS – For seasoned observers of Europe’s economy, the most recent European Union summit delivered a bizarre sense of déjà vu. Little more than a decade ago, European leaders announced to great fanfare the “Lisbon Agenda,” a policy blueprint to make Europe “the most competitive, knowledge-based economy in the world.” The new “Competitiveness Pact,” proposed at the EU summit by France and Germany, did not make the same pretensions to global grandeur, but was instead sold as a step required to ensure the survival of the euro.
BRUSSELS – For seasoned observers of Europe’s economy, the most recent European Union summit delivered a bizarre sense of déjà vu. Little more than a decade ago, European leaders announced to great fanfare the “Lisbon Agenda,” a policy blueprint to make Europe “the most competitive, knowledge-based economy in the world.” The new “Competitiveness Pact,” proposed at the EU summit by France and Germany, did not make the same pretensions to global grandeur, but was instead sold as a step required to ensure the survival of the euro.