The single market & competition policy
Issue 43 - 2005
29 July 2005
- Liberal versus social Europe, Katinka Barysch
- A bad European dream, Daniel Keohane
- Europe’s social dilemma, Alasdair Murray
Unshackling services is the key to Europe's economic future
03 June 2005
In the last edition of the CER Bulletin, John Monks, secretary-general of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), wrote an interesting and engaging - but in my view incorrect - article on the Commission's draft directive for opening up EU services markets.
Issue 42 - 2005
27 May 2005
- Europe beyond the referendums, Charles Grant
- Unshackling services is the key to Europe's economic future, Digby Jones
- When the dust settles, Alasdair Murray
Clumsy politics on services
01 April 2005
It may be too early to read the last rites for the EU's proposed services directive. But even the strongest supporters of the directive, which seeks to liberalise services ranging from estate agents to employment firms, must now see that the prospects for its introduction are bleak.
Issue 41 - 2005
25 March 2005
- What new transatlantic institutions?, Charles Grant, Mark Leonard
- Clumsy politics on services, John Monks
- One year after enlargement, Katinka Barysch
The Lisbon scorecard V: Can Europe compete?
01 March 2005
The EU is half-way through its ten year programme of economic reform, the 'Lisbon agenda'. The EU is unlikely to achieve its goal of becoming the world's most competitive and dynamic economy by 2010.
A fair referee? The European Commission and EU competition policy
01 October 2004
The EU's policies for enforcing competition and restricting state subsidies are among its biggest success stories. But the way the European Commission conducts these policies is coming under attack.
The Lisbon scorecard IV: The status of economic reform in the enlarging EU
05 March 2004
With cynicism, even derision – this is how many Europeans look at the EU's key economic target, namely to become the "most competitive and dynamic, knowledge-based economy in the world" by 2010.
Policing public sector aid
02 February 2004
Europe's powerful public sector trade unions are campaigning to protect public services from the disciplines of EU competition and state aid laws.
Issue 34 - 2004
30 January 2004
- Jobs for the boys, Steven Everts
- Poland: the EU's new awkward partner, Heather Grabbe
- Policing public sector aid, Alasdair Murray
A pact for stability and growth
03 October 2003
The stability and growth pact – the EU’s fiscal rule book – is in tatters. The eurozone’s largest countries, Germany and France, are in breach of the pact, having exceeded the 3 per cent of GDP limit for budget deficits in 2002 and 2003. Theyare likely to do so again...
If it's broken, fix it!
01 October 2003
Europeans are right to worry about their economy. Forecasters think that the eurozone economy will grow by a paltry 0.5 per cent this year. But the real problem is that Europe's sluggish performance is part of a long-term trend.
Issue 32 - 2003
26 September 2003
- If it's broken, fix it! , Katinka Barysch
- A clean break for Europe , Nick Butler
- The EU must be tougher and more creative on Iran, Steven Everts
Der Lissabon-Anzeiger: EU Wirtschaftsreformen vor der Osterweiterung
05 September 2003
Als sich im März 2000 die EU-Staatschefs zum Gipfel in Lissabon versammelten, schien Europas Wirtschaft am Anfang eines neuen goldenen Zeitalters zu stehen. Die Wachstumsraten waren die höchsten seit nahezu einem Jahrzehnt.
The Lisbon scorecard III: The status of economic reform in the enlarging EU
07 March 2003
Three years into the EU's Lisbon economic reform agenda, the EU remains far from meeting its goal of becoming the 'most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010'.
Does enlargement matter for the EU economy?
07 March 2003
The economies of the new member-states are too small to have much impact on the current EU. The EU as a whole has gained from enlargement and will continue to do so. But labour intensive industries and border regions will have to cope with increased competition. Germany, Austria and other...
A credible competition process
02 December 2002
The European Commission's handling of competition policy is facing a crisis of credibility. In the last six months, the Commission which had never previously lost a merger case has suffered three reversals in the European Court of Justice.
Issue 27 - 2002
29 November 2002
- The EU's budget: Time to go back to basics , Friedrich Heinemann
- A credible competition process , Alasdair Murray
- Why Europe does not need a new president , Peter Sutherland
A half-finished job: The EU’s financial services action plan
01 November 2002
At the Lisbon summit in March 2000, EU heads of government signed up to an ambitious programme designed to achieve a viable single market in financial services by 2005. The financial services action plan (FSAP) is an attempt to reduce the legal obstacles which still prevent businesses – whether retail...
European economic reform: Tackling the delivery deficit
04 October 2002
The EU has set itself a series of ambitious economic reform goals but has so far failed to deliver on its promises. Alasdair Murray argues in this report that the Convention on the future of Europe and the forthcoming inter governmental conference provide an opportunity for the EU to think afresh about how it can overcome the institutional obstacles to economic reform.