Interviews
Peter Mandelson argues for economic reform in Europe
03 Jun '06
3 min read
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has told an audience in Warsaw Poland that the EU must face up to the challenge of economic reform and "take the difficult first steps down the path to sustainable prosperity or we face inevitable decline".
Mandelson argued that the case for reform in Europe had been given new urgency by the increasing integration of the global economy and Europe's Eastward enlargement.
Faced with new competition, old European structures and practices need to undergo change. He argued that governments must defend the benefits of change rather than indulge public anxiety: "fear of the Polish plumber and of the Chinese textile worker are essentially two sides of the same psychological coin" he argued.
On tackling fear of change and embracing its challenges: "People know that globalisation brings more choice and cheaper goods but they also fear the changes it implies. In parts of our continent, the fear of the Polish plumber and of the Chinese textile worker are essentially two sides of the same psychological coin.
Both globalisation and enlargement – which is globalisation in our backyard – increase the pressure for Europe to face up to change. Either we chose openness and take the difficult first steps down the path to sustainable prosperity or we face inevitable decline".
On the need for governments to embrace reform and to invest more in the knowledge and skills needed to maintain and extend Europe's competitive lead: "Europe needs to reach for greater innovation, more flexibility in our labour markets, stronger investment in skills and education and a continuous shift towards higher value goods and services. We need to reach out to those affected by economic change to help with adjustment before they in turn reach out for the simplistic, anti-foreigner, political solutions of protectionism".
Mandelson argued that the case for reform in Europe had been given new urgency by the increasing integration of the global economy and Europe's Eastward enlargement.
Faced with new competition, old European structures and practices need to undergo change. He argued that governments must defend the benefits of change rather than indulge public anxiety: "fear of the Polish plumber and of the Chinese textile worker are essentially two sides of the same psychological coin" he argued.
On tackling fear of change and embracing its challenges: "People know that globalisation brings more choice and cheaper goods but they also fear the changes it implies. In parts of our continent, the fear of the Polish plumber and of the Chinese textile worker are essentially two sides of the same psychological coin.
Both globalisation and enlargement – which is globalisation in our backyard – increase the pressure for Europe to face up to change. Either we chose openness and take the difficult first steps down the path to sustainable prosperity or we face inevitable decline".
On the need for governments to embrace reform and to invest more in the knowledge and skills needed to maintain and extend Europe's competitive lead: "Europe needs to reach for greater innovation, more flexibility in our labour markets, stronger investment in skills and education and a continuous shift towards higher value goods and services. We need to reach out to those affected by economic change to help with adjustment before they in turn reach out for the simplistic, anti-foreigner, political solutions of protectionism".
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