Résumé
Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France, managed to erase "free and undistorted competition" from the proposed new EU Treaty as a main aim of the European Union. Afterwards, he asked rhetorically what competition has done for Europe. This article is an attempt to reply to that very important question. The view of competition and its effects among decision-makers is likely to affect numerous policy outcomes. Throughout history, there has been a struggle between freedom and control in Europe. Competition is the result of economic freedom and the absence of interventions in the economy by the state. And it has done very much indeed for Europe. It may be the single most important reason why the average income in Western Europe is 14 times higher today than in 1820. If anything, Europe needs more free competition, not less, in areas like the labour market, welfare services and product markets. Protectionism and economic central planning has always failed. What the entrepreneurs of Europe need is more freedom; expressed in a more classical way.
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Extrait
What Competition has Done for Europe*
1 Introduction
'Competition as an ideology, as a dogma, what has it done for Europe?' (SARKOZY 2007)This question was asked by the French President NICOLAS SARKOZY at a press conference following the Summit of the European Union's Heads of Government in late June, 2007. It was part of his motivation for the replacement of the phrase 'an internal market where competition is free and undistorted' with the mere words "a single market" in the new proposed EU Treaty.President SARKOZY's question is fundamental. Competition is an essential feature of a free economy, whereas no competition is a main feature of a centrally planned economy. Freedom or control - the history of Europe is indeed a struggle between these two opposites, in different shapes over centuries and decades: Trade or protectionism, laissez-faire or mercantilism, capitalism or communism.The question is also relevant today. Issues of competition arise in many - if not most - policy debates; locally, nationally, and internationally. Whether the topic is trade, investments, labour markets, taxes, health care, education, or product markets, competition often plays a central part in the discussion. How competition as such is viewed will affect numerous policy outcomes. Every policy area contains a battle between those that want more competition and those that want more central control.President SARKOZY seemed to indicate that his response to the question was: 'Not particularly much.' Why else would free competition be erased, but other EU aims such as "sustainable development" remain? A protocol claiming that competition is still important was added to the Treaty. Its legal value can be discussed. That is, however, not very relevant. The symbolic value of erasing competition is in any case overwhelming. It might contribute to tilting many policy agendas in Europe against competition and set Europe going towards more control.The issue of more or less competition will decide much of Europe's future fate. Since the autumn of 2005, France has experienced returning riots. Socially excluded and desperate people have raged the streets violently. Clearly, there are serious problems in a number of European countries, to a large extent the consequence of current economic policies and institutions. The riots provide a dramatic illustration of the problems. Still, today's policies are often fiercely defended. Reforms that would open up the economy for more external and internal competition are resisted. That resistance protects the causes of many problems and prevents possible solutions.Though competition versus control has been an ongoing debate for a long time, it has emerged strongly in recent years. It might be fair to say that Europe has come to a crossroads between policies of openness and reform on one side and policies of protectionism on the other. A key element in that choice of path is the degree of competition. Openness and reforms increase competition, whereas prot...Voir le contenu complet de ce document
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