Klaus Schwab – Project Syndicate
Macron and a Multi-Need Europe – an extract by MD
May 8. 2017
The approach that has dominated EU reform debates is the creation of a “multi-speed Europe.” The idea is that, in lieu of an agreement on when and how to reach some optimal level of integration, each EU member country should be allowed to progress toward integration at its own rate, with a set of vanguard countries driving progress.
Europe undeniably requires a shared vision – based on common values, freedoms, and standards – toward which to work…Shared values are one thing; the details of social and labor-market reforms, tax systems, or regulatory regimes (beyond the essentials of a single market) are quite another… Those differences will affect not just the pace of integration, but also the path.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report, eight of Europe’s ten most competitive economies are in northwest Europe; non-EU members Switzerland and Norway complete the ranking. But a solution to the north-south competitiveness gap can neither be imposed from above, nor be the sole objective guiding the conduct of business in the EU. It certainly cannot be closed overnight.
I am realistic enough to know that no government – not in Germany, and perhaps nowhere in Europe – can agree to a major European debt-relief initiative months before a contested election. But I am also optimistic that leaders in the most competitive parts of today’s more confident EU will see the wisdom in working to support economic progress for all member states.
Political leaders, and their private-sector counterparts, now must emulate the example that Germany set with its refugee policy…Above all, it means recognizing that what we should be talking about is a Europe not of different speeds, but of different needs.
Milan Demšar, 10.5. 2017
