Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

Debate on Future of Europe Gets Momentum

Debate on Future of Europe  Gets Momentum

BRUSSELS - When the European Union (EU) is preparing for the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, from which the whole integration process stemmed, the future of Europe aroused hot discussions inside the bloc.
Giles Merritt, founder and chairman of Friends of Europe think tank and author of "Slippery Slope Europe's Troubled Future," said EU "still has much worth" but argued that poor productivity is Europe's greatest weakness, and it is going to be exacerbated by aging and youth unemployment.
He said, "European productivity growth used to outstrip America's. But now Europe's rate is half that of the United States. It's time for the Commission to identify the backsliders, the greatest threat to prosperity."
According to Emma Marcegaglia, president of BusinessEurope, the Brussels-based representative body for Europe's business community, industrial policy, trade and investment are "key" for growth, competitiveness and job creation in Europe and to take the European project forward.
Ulrike Trebesius, a centre right German European parliamentarian, believed that past hopes in Europe and the eurozone have fallen victim to "centralism and delusions of grandeur", adding, "The EU should concentrate on fewer policy areas and become more efficient, for example, in fighting terrorism and protecting its borders.
"Times have changed, we need more flexibility and to adapt our institutional set-up", she said. (Xinhua)