Can Europe Deliver Growth? The Sapir Report and Beyond

Jacques Pelkmans and Jean-Pierre Casey
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Jacques Pelkmans: Senior Research Fellow, CEPS (Brussels);Visiting Professor, College of Europe (Bruges)
Jean-Pierre Casey: Azurewealth, London; Visiting Professor, College of Europe, Bruges

No 6, Bruges European Economic Policy Briefings from European Economic Studies Department, College of Europe

Abstract: In this critical appraisal of the SAPIR report of July 2003, we choose not to focus on the economic analysis provided in the Sapir Report - where we largely agree - or the analysis of governance questions and design at the EU level. Rather, we concentrate on the assignment, orientation and policy recommendations of the Report with the following question in mind: to what extent does the Report help to revitalize the growth debate in Europe? Unfortunately, the focus of the Report’s recommendations is entirely on the EU level of policy and governance, whereas the motor of growth is very clearly being hindered at the Member State level. The present authors suggest that a number of coordination processes at the EU level are best regarded as ‘dangerous liaisons’which are not really goal-oriented but instead ingeniously seem to serve to protect the actors’ autonomously-decided positions. The Union is trapped in a low-growth equilibrium due to this deceptive construction and because in many policy areas relevant for growth, the EU cannot act without the explicit consent of the Member States, or it simply cannot act at all. Indeed, given the single market and EMU, Europe can only deliver growth at the Member States' level. We exemplify this point in a number of concrete policy areas.

Keywords: European integration; Growth; Sapir Report (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H77 O40 O52 P11 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2004-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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