The EU is waking up
Hat tip
Instapundit
Glen links to a story in the U.K
Financial Times regarding the EU 'failure' to overtake the US as the world's leading economy by 2010.
From the Times:
bq. The Commission's spring report, the focal point of the March European Union economic summit, sets out in stark terms the reasons for the widening economic gap between Europe and the US.
bq. It cites Europe's low investment, low productivity, weak public finances and low employment rates as among the many reasons for its sluggish performance.
bq. The draft report, to be published by the Commission today, warns that without substantial improvements "the Union cannot catch up on the United States, as our per capita GDP is 72 per cent of our American partner's".
bq. It was four years ago in Lisbon that EU leaders, enthralled by the technology boom, proclaimed their intention to overhaul the US as the world's "most competitive, knowledge-based economy" by 2010.
Yeah... Right... And more:
bq. The report blames low overall European productivity on a lack of investment and poor use of information technology, and warns that China and India are becoming key competitors.
bq. Europe's low employment rate, especially among workers aged over 55, is described as "worrying indeed", while it is deemed unlikely that the EU will meet its employment rate target of 67 per cent by 2005.
bq. "At the same time, several strategic measures to increase our competitiveness have not got off the ground because of a lack of political will," the report says.
Always meetings and reports in Old Europe, seldom action and results...
Posted by DaveH at January 21, 2004 11:03 AM