The battle is on for the future direction of the policies for economic reforms in Europe. In late March, the heads of state and government of the 25 member countries will meet in Brussels to review the relative failure of the last few years and to look ahead.
On the centre-left there is a slow guerilla warfare against the more ambitious approach taken by Commission President Barroso and his team. The Swedish Minister of Finance – the man who wants to further increase the world’s highest taxes – has joined the battallions of leftist grumblers.
But the reality is that there is a need for more rather than less of reforms in the years ahead.
The pro-reform Lisbon Council is an NGO advocating exactly this in the European debates. It’s worth reading its reaction to the Barroso proposals and the debate surrounding it.
The ongoing mass-immigration from Africa to Spain may create short term wealth effects, but soon the new EU-citizens will spread all over Europe in growing numbers in search for income, which may not exist in the more developed countries.
Sweden also lacks a long-term strategy to prevent social unsecurity and high spendings related to immigration. We ought to offer referendums on immigration issues and let people consider the consequences before political decisions are made. That´s democracy.
In recent years there’s been a lot of words and a lot of expansion. Welcoming new members is a good thing but the union will need a lot more reform action.