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 Policy Paper
11/03/13

[EN] La stratégie commerciale européenne : promesse ou menace ?

Disponible en anglais uniquement

 

Richard Youngs, Director, Fride and John Springford, Research Fellow, Centre for European Reform (CER) ? Europe’s growth strategy is based on a larger trade surplus with the rest of the world, to make up for slow domestic growth, as consumers are weighed down by debt. Therefore, Member States have pursued commercial diplomacy, with foreign ministries organising trade fairs, brokering sales of energy, transport, and arms equipment, and in some cases making bilateral trade deals, undercutting EU efforts. Governments are doing everything they can to drum up export growth, especially in emerging economies. This strategy is unlikely to make Europe richer in either the short or the long term. The continent’s short-term problem is a lack of domestic demand: overall exports to the rest of the world would have to grow at an unlikely pace to offset it. The continent’s long term problem is a slow rate of productivity growth. More competition between Europe’s firms is more likely to raise productivity, and with it living standards, than a government-sponsored export drive.

Ce Policy Paper est une contribution de John Springford (Centre for European Reform) et Richard Youngs (FRIDE) au projet Think Global – Act European (TGAE). Thinking Strategically about the EU’s external action dirigé par Notre Europe – Institut Jacques Delors (rapport disponible en mars 2013, dir. Elvire Fabry, Chercheur Senior, Notre Europe – Institut Jacques Delors).

Europe’s growth strategy is based on a larger trade surplus with the rest of the world, to make up for slow domestic growth, as consumers are weighed down by debt. Therefore, Member
States have pursued commercial diplomacy, with foreign ministries organising trade fairs, brokering sales of energy, transport, and arms equipment, and in some cases making bilateral trade deals, undercutting EU efforts. Governments are doing everything they can to drum up export growth, especially in emerging economies. This strategy is unlikely to make Europe richer in either the short or the long term. The continent’s short-term problem is a lack of domestic demand: overall exports to the rest of the world would have to grow at an unlikely pace to offset it. The continent’s long term problem is a slow rate of productivity growth. More competition between Europe’s firms is more likely to raise productivity, and with it living standards, than a government-sponsored export drive.

Avant la publication du rapport final présentant les recommandations clés des 16 think tanks mobilisés dans ce projet, 5 séries de Policy Papers portent sur les sujets suivants : Politiques économiques, Migration, Voisinage de l’UE, PSDC,Ressources stratégiques.Ce Policy Paper fait partie de la série intitulée «Comment mieux promouvoir les intérêts économiques européens à travers le monde ?» qui comprend les contributions de Pawel Swieboda (demosEuropa), Agatha Kratz and Jonas Parello-Plesner (ECFR) , Daniela Schwarzer (SWP), Federico Steinberg (Elcano), Diego Valiante (CEPS),Yiannis Tirkides ( CCEIA), Filippa Chatzistavrou and Dimitris Katsikas (ELIAMEP).