MUNICH — By 2010, Europe was to be "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge- based society in the world." This was the proclamation in 2000 by the European Commission in the "Lisbon Agenda." Now, a decade after that bold pledge, it is official: Europe is the world's growth laggard rather than its champion.
While current EU members grew by 14 percent over the past 10 years, North America grew by 18 percent, Latin America by 39 percent, Africa by 63 percent, the Middle East by 60 percent, Russia by 59 percent, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan by 52 percent, India by 104 percent and China by 171 percent.
The Europeans wanted to achieve their goal through, among other means, further environmental protection and more social cohesion — desirable aims, but certainly not growth strategies. The Lisbon Agenda turned out to be a joke.