A Lack of Euro Vision - by ALVARO VARGAS LLOSA
"This was supposed to be the event in which the new generation of leaders shed the protectionist ways of Europe, turning the awkward pachyderm into a nimble feline capable of outrunning the U.S. and Asia. Fat chance! French President Nicolas Sarkozy's "feat" was to persuade his colleagues to drop "free and undistorted competition" as one of the aims of the treaty. In case anyone takes this to mean that Mr. Sarkozy wants to get rid of antitrust bodies that often undermine successful companies by accusing them of monopoly activity, the president explained that he believes in "promoting national champions" -- i.e., pouring corporate welfare into industries that the government wants to boost.
Instead of free markets, the new treaty upheld interventionist policies responsible for the fact that Europe's unemployment rate is nearly double that of the U.S. One wonders how hard Europe needs to be hit before a generation of leaders will wake up to the challenge. Perhaps the problem is that many European businesses have modernized themselves in spite of the restrictive environment and become great global players, making it less obvious that reform is urgently needed -- 30% of the 2,000 most successful companies in the world are European, although in specific areas such as high tech or life sciences the proportion is much smaller."
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