Priestley, J., (2014), “EU election fault lines: Jobs and growth”, Policy Network, 18 Φεβρουαρίου.
No-one, not even UKIP (presumably), supports increasing youth unemployment. But just because politicians from the main European political parties share the view that something has to be done about nearly 6 million youngsters who cannot find work, while recognising that governments have to pursue fiscal responsibility does not mean that there is a consensus about the mix of economic policies required.
Throughout the economic crisis the centre right has been Europe’s incumbents; a clear majority in Council (although this has been changing in the last twelve months), a strong majority in the Commission and a less coherent one in Parliament. And, to be fair, the EPP will be able to construct a narrative to defend itself; the euro is still there and has a breathing space because at the eleventh hour ‘what it takes’, to cite Mario Draghi, was done; and a toolkit of measures has been put in place to ensure greater financial stability and budgetary restraint in national capitals. At the time of writing this piece, there is as yet no agreement between the EP and Council on the Banking Union package but most observers expect an accord on something which only three years ago would have been considered Utopian dreaming. The European Council position on Banking Union has many critics, but the likely outcome is a significant step in the right direction.
On growth and jobs however the record is strong on rhetoric, weak on delivery. Some of the countries coming out of bail-outs are operating ‘zombie economies’ as commentators have dubbed them. In many EU countries growth is slow to imperceptible. Even catching up with 2008-2010 GDP figures is proving daunting. And in countries like the UK where growth appears higher this is attributable more to rocketing property prices and consumer spending than to competitiveness or innovation. For Europe, relatively rich but with sluggish growth, meeting the twin long-term challenges of globalisation and an ageing population is seeming an ever more formidable task.
Σχετικές Αναρτήσεις
Loungani, Pr., (2014), “Are Jobs and Growth Still Linked?”, iMFdirect, 7 Φεβρουαρίου.
Lagarde, Ch.,(2014), “Jobs and Growth: Supporting the European Recovery”, iMF Direct, 28 Ιανουαρίου.
Hancké, Β., (2013), “Despite signs of recovery, the Eurozone crisis is still far from over”, European Politics and Policy Blog, 30 Οκτωβρίου.