Globalisation and the reform of European Social Models

This paper has been prepared for a presentation to the European Union's Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors at the ECOFIN informal meeting in Manchester under the British Presidency of the EU, on 9 September 2005. It will provide the basis for a Bruegel Policy Brief scheduled for publication in October 2005.

The paper argues that: The enlarged single market and the euro can and should be part of the solution as the countries of Europe strive to reap the full benefits and avoid the pitfalls of globalisation. However, there is a serious risk that the enlarged single market and the euro are instead becoming part of the problem. This is illustrated by the poor economic performance in the core of Eurozone, the stalling of the Lisbon process, and the failure to agree on how to open
up services markets. Only if a serious reform of inefficient European social models is undertaken, will the enlarged single market and the euro contribute to making Europe economically successful in the era of globalisation.

Bruegel: Globalisation and the Reform of European Social Models: Executive summary, 2005 http://www.bruegel.org/Repositories/Documents/publications/working_papers/Sapir_Summary_080905b.pdf

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