Mac the knife McCreevy has brought his thatcherite policies to Brussels

national | eu | other press

Monday September 05, 2005 17:09

by mafia watcher

Old habits die hard, McCreevy is still working hard for big business. I am sure his efforts will be richly rewarded.

EUcommissioners in charge of two of the most powerful portfolios in Brussels have strongly criticised France and Italy for their protectionist moves.

In separate speeches given at an economic forum in Italy over the weekend, competition commissioner Neelie Kroes and her internal market colleague Charlie McCreevy singled out the countries to drive home their point about the benefits of a single market and free trade.

The commissioners' words are likely to rile both countries, particularly France which has been on a collision course with this commission since it came into office last year due to its much publicised adherence to a free market agenda.

Under EU rules, member states may protect industries that take part in public security or the defence of public health but Brussels fears the interpretation of these rules may be stretched in these countries as they look to prevent foreign takeovers.

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Comments (3 of 3)

French

by John

Mon Sep 05, 2005 20:43

Well, why shouldn't he? The Irish economy is performing much better than the French one. Our unemployment rate is half their's. He's only trying to help them. Let's see if they're smart enough to take his advice.

France and Ireland

by Ciarán

Tue Sep 06, 2005 15:01

John, get a grip!! France may have double the unemployment rate of Ireland but the idea that they could learn anything from us is absolutely ludicrous.

When will you, and those like you, get it into your heads that the "Irish" economy is just a aggregation of multi-national manufacturers and financial institutions who happen to have been lured here over the past 15 years. They'll be lured elsewhere over the next few years when things is Eastern Europe move more to the liking. With the ways things are going that process might happen sooner rather than later.

John, the sad fact is that France, with all its social protections, is at the heart of the European economy and will remain there. We, on the other hand, at the periphery of Europe and will have to get used over the next 10 -20 years to a much reduced standard of living as the multi-nationals relocate elsewhere and pass over our little island stuck hundreds of miles off the coast of Europe.

One last point, the Irish economy is a fraction of the size of the French economy. The total population of Ireland is half the population of Paris; you're not comparing like with like. A country which over decades of mostly successful social struggle, involving socialists of all shades, can't be compared with a country which essentially can't function without foreign investment and whose people can't survive without massive reliance on credit.

A question John. Why weren't you trumpeting the glories of the free market when the news about the Hospira closure came out recently?
After all the market has spoken and decided that 500 odd Irish people should be kicked out of work. Surely that's something you'd celebrate?

France

Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:47

I doubt if you will make a living as an economic forecaster. There is not a scrap of evidence that people in Ireland face a 'much reduced standard of living over the next 15 to 20 years'. All economic forecasts by international organisations such as the UN, the IMF, the OECD forecast that the Irish economy will continue to grow faster than that of any other country in Western Europe in the next decade. The left-leaning ESRI in Ireland forecasts that also. Name one reputable organisation that forecasts a reduction in living standards for people in Ireland over the next decade. But, then socialists are always predicting that people's standards of living are about to plummet., except of course when they come to power, when they actually do plummet. They were saying the same in Ireland in 1994. All redundancies are sad for those involved. In Ireland in recent years there have about 20,000 redundancies annually. But, these have been more than compensated for new jobs created. These amount to about 80,000 annually in recent years, giving a net gain of around 60,000 annually. Thats why almost twice as many people are at work in Ireland now as in 1990. Of the million extra at work in Ireland compared with 1990, only about 50,000 work for multi-nationals. Neither France nor any of the other high-tax countries in Europe have achieved anything close to what Ireland has achieved in job creation in recent years. Most of them have fewer people at work than a decade ago. Not just France, but Germany also. That's why the Left/Green Government in Germany is for the chop in a couple of weeks. That the French could learn something from us is not at all ludicrous, as you suggest. They could learn how to create jobs for a start. Or maybe you don't think job creation is important? If you don't believe me, ask yourself why Ireland is attracting 100,000 immigrants a year, while similar numbers are leaving France annually now to work in nearby London, and indeed some of these have made their way to Ireland to find work.

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Mac the knife McCreevy has brought his thatcherite policies to Brussels

Comments (3 of 3)