Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Nicholas Watt — Reform EU or Britain quits - George Osborne lays down ultimatum

Osborne will tell the conference: "The biggest economic risk facing Europe doesn't come from those who want reform and renegotiation – it comes from a failure to reform and renegotiate.

"It is the status quo which condemns the people of Europe to an ongoing economic crisis and continuing decline."

Osborne will say the EU suffers from a chronic lack of competitiveness and that the European economy has stalled over the last six years while the Indian economy has grown by a third and the Chinese economy by 50%.

He will say: "Make no mistake, our continent is falling behind. Look at innovation, where Europe's share of world patent applications nearly halved in the last decade. Look at unemployment, where a quarter of young people looking for work can't find it. Look at welfare.

"As Angela Merkel has pointed out, Europe accounts for just over 7% of the world's population, 25% of its economy, and 50% of global social welfare spending. We can't go on like this."

Osborne is expected to say that Cameron will press for a realignment of the rules of the single market to ensure the 18 members of the eurozone cannot outvote the 10 EU members, such as Britain, which have not joined the single currency.
The Guardian (UK)
Reform EU or Britain quits - George Osborne lays down ultimatum
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent
(h/t Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism)

The Tories are pushing for more austerity and supply-side policy as the answer to European decline. What this means in translation is a reduction in UK and Continental standard of living to improve competitiveness with Asia.

The UK and Europe are finished, and with it the era of the dominance of Western civilization. A global civilization will arise from the ashes, but not without travail.


3 comments:

Ryan Harris said...

Meanwhile, Back In China, Money is being delivered by truck to villagers. And government is subsidizing high-tech research and providing credit to buy up western firms. Quite a contrast. I know the Chinese government is evil and the Western governments are gentle puppy dogs. But... But...

Tom Hickey said...

China is in the process of leapfrogging the sclerotic West where extracting economic rent is the basis of neoliberalism

googleheim said...

Tom are you saying there is no rent in China?

The shale oil plays are 45 percent funded by China here in USA. They do this to escape the media which burned them with the Amoco disaster a few years back.

The substandar steel pipes come from India whose mills do business with the revolutionary guard of Iran.

All thanks to puppy dog neoliberals like Rick Perry and stylish buffont hair specialist repuKeKlans...

Is that Gerry curl oil in Rand Paul's hair?????