Peterborough Examiner - A new and vital Europe - by David Crane

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A new and vital Europe - by David Crane

With its many museums and beautiful old buildings, Europe is too often dismissed as a quaint tourist destination that is no longer of much relevance to the modern world, and the United States, China and India are seen as representing the present and the future. Europe, instead, has been seen as a symbol of the past, bogged down in high unemployment, slow growth, bureaucratic rigidity, unaffordable social benefits and paralyzed institutions. This was never an accurate picture.

But what's important today is that Europe is reasserting itself, shedding regulations, making social and workplace changes, and becoming much more innovative. Its focus is on becoming a 21st-century economy in a society that is equitable, sustainable and ready to play a larger role in world affairs, especially with regard to international development.
Merkel, Sarkozy and Brown are all committed to better relations with the United States through the pursuit of the new Transatlantic Economic Partnership, focusing on improving regulatory convergence and deepening cooperation in energy and the environment. It is not clear where Canada will fit in with this. But Merkel and Sarkozy, in particular, have made it clear that while they admire the Americans they will challenge them when they disagree, on climate change, for example. They will be partners, not followers.