I came across a NY Times article that addressed the Lisbon Agenda and how it...didn't exactly work out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/business/global/26inside.html?scp=1&sq=lisbon%202020&st=cse
This sentence sounded familiar: E.U. "The 2020 strategy, which is due to be adopted around midyear and is aimed at doubling Europe’s growth potential to a modest 2 percent a year." (Remember production possibilities frontiers? We could all draw the shifts that Europe wants to make).
The rest of the article plays into a lot of concepts we have been discussing in class, including GDP.
"...Their successors are pondering whether to try again, stop setting such ambitious goals or give their aspirations teeth by conferring new powers on the European Commission."
Considering what we discussed in class today (Tuesday).
1. What "teeth" could be given to the European Commission to try again to surpass the US's economy?
I think one of the best advantages the EU has against the American economy is their ability to see different view points. Most European governments, unlike the bilateral system in the US, have many parties and therefore many ideas can be presented and seriously considered. Governments change and people adapt to the shifting demographic. Politicians are more willing to form coalitions between parties of seemingly conflicting values in order to get work done. Here in the US we see things far too often in black and white and so it takes longer for change to happen when it is needed. The European Commission also has the advantage that underneath it it has many full functioning fairly dependent national governments. Right now in America each state is fairly dependent on national funding and leadership and alone could not stand. In Europe, although many have fallen into economic hardship, the individual national governments remain an important voice and add to the overall economic might of Europe
ReplyDeleteThe reason Europe can compete and has been able to have the EU is because of the stability of the US. Furthermore, with new economic prestige, the US may no longer feel it nessecary to be the military protectorate in the region. This is a main reason why European nation were able to grow after WWII, because they have limited defense industries. Also, the Euro maybe strong but in the Eastern countries there is a lot of dissent with the quality of life, and Germany's new ties to Russia may chip away at the unionship of the EU. Therefore, if Europe wishes to have the capacity to do this, it relies mainly upon themselves to meet these goals on their own.
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