An Agenda For A Growing Europe

This book is the report of a high-level group commissioned by the President of the European Commission to review the EU economic system and propose a blueprint for an economic system capable of delivering faster growth along with stability and cohesion. It assesses the EU's economic performance, and more.

This book is the report of a high-level group commissioned by the President of the European Commission to review the EU economic system and propose a blueprint for an economic system capable of delivering faster growth along with stability and cohesion. It assesses the EU's economic performance, and more.

En juillet 2002, Romano Prodi, Président de la Commission européenne, a décidé de créer un groupe d'étude de haut niveau qui sera chargé de passer en revue l'ensemble des instruments économiques qui existent actuellement au niveau de l'UE et d'évaluer s'ils constituent bien des instruments de gouvernance économique adaptés dans le contexte de l'élargissement. Le groupe examinera également si de nouvelles politiques sont ou non indispensables pour garantir la croissance, la stabilité et la cohésion. Le Président Prodi a demandé au groupe de présenter son rapport définitif au printemps 2003. Pour l'élaboration de ce rapport, il sera assisté par le groupe des conseillers politiques de la Commission.

Over the past decade European economic integration has seen considerable institutional success, but the economic performance of the EU has been varied. While macroeconomic stability has improved and an emphasis on cohesion preserved, the EU economic system has not delivered satisfactory growth performance. This book is the report of a high-level group commissioned by the President of the European Commission to review the EU economic system and propose a blueprint for an economic system capable of delivering faster growth along with stability and cohesion. It assesses the EU s economic performance, examines the challenges facing the EU in the coming years, and presents a series of recommendations. The report views Europe's unsatisfactory growth performance during the last decades as a symptom of its failure to transform into an innovation-based economy. It has now become clear that the context in which economic policies have been developed has changed fundamentally over the past thirty years. A system built around the assimilation of existing technologies, mass production generating economics of scale, and an industrial structure dominated by large firms with stable markets and long term employment patterns no longer delivers in the world of today, characterized by economic globalization and strong external competition. What is needed now is more opportunity for new entrants, greater mobility of employees within and across firms, more retraining, greater reliance on market financing, and higher investment in both R&D and higher education. This requires a massive and urgent change in economic policies in Europe.

Palgrave Studies In European Union Politics publishes innovative research monographs on all topics of significance concerning the nature and operation of the European Union. It includes contributions from a range of disciplines to reflect the growing importance of the EU as a political, economic and social phenomenon. Why does the European Union deal with some issues but not with others? Answering this question is crucial if we are to understand how the EU makes policies and what kind of political system the EU is. This book engages with the processes that shape the EU's political agenda through a systematic analysis of EU agendas in the fields of environmental and health policies. Applying an innovative methodology to trace the attention for issues in policy documents, it analyses the development of EU agendas over the past three decades and compares them with agendas in the United States. In addition, it offers a theoretically grounded and empirically rich account of the processes that drive the formation of policy agendas in the EU through the in-depth analysis of four case studies. Presenting original research in an accessible format, it will be of interest to scholars as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of European integration and policy studies. Book jacket.

A companion to his acclaimed work in Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy, Joseph E. Stiglitz, along with Carter Dougherty and the Foundation for European Progressive Studies, lays out the economic framework for a Europe with faster growth that is more equitably shared. Europe is in crisis. Sluggish economic growth in many countries, widespread income stagnation, and recession have led to severe political and social consequences. Social protections for citizens have been cut back. Governments offer timid responses to deep-seated problems. These economic and political failures have contributed to the rise of extremist parties on the right. Marginalized populations are being made scapegoats for Europe’s woes. But the problems of today’s Europe stem from decisions based on a blind worship of markets in too many areas of policy. If Europe is to return to an innovative and dynamic economy—and if there is to be shared prosperity, social solidarity, and justice—then EU countries need to break with their current, destructive trajectory. This volume offers concrete strategies for renewal that would also reinvigorate the project of European integration, with fresh ideas in the areas of both macroeconomics and microeconomics, including central banking, public investment, corporate governance and competition policy, social policy, and international trade.

How well are European firms responding to the new opportunities for growth, and in which global value chains are they developing these new activities? The policy discussion on the future of manufacturing requires an understanding of the changing role of manufacturing in Europe's growth agenda.