Speaking at a conference on the theme 'A social Europe fit for globalisation," Barroso noted that at present, Europe is "doing much better" in competitiveness terms than the US. He went on to argue that this advantage, coupled with the EU's considerable experience, gave Europe a strong position to "respond to and shape globalisation".
The same argument was taken up by European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering. "If we didn't have the euro and single market, the US sub-prime crisis would have caused economic chaos in member states," claimed Pöttering at the conference.
Pöttering also slammed analysts who make unfavourable comparisons between European and Chinese growth rates. "China has 9% growth rates, but this not the only way to measure economic growth," he said, arguing that increases in GDP must occur in conjunction with social and environmental improvements. "We need a new definition of economic growth" to reflect European social values, Pöttering concluded.
However, both presidents noted that EU unemployment rates are still too high, and stressed that much work remains to reduce the gap between the winners and losers of globalisation.
This was reflected in a speech by Slovenian Labour and Social Affairs Minister Marjeta Cotman, who also participated in the round-table conference. "The advantages and disadvantages of globalisation are not equally distributed," she noted. "For the 78 million Europeans who live on the poverty threshold, fear of globalisation is real and understandable," she said.
President Barroso referred to the European Globalisation Fund, which has been operating for over a year. "The fund has already interevened in several member states," he said, arguing that it is "important to show that we care" for those who lose out in the globalisation game. "One size doesn't fit all," he concluded.
All speakers made the point that Europe has a strong foundation to drive globalisation as a force for both economic and social progress. "We need to be sure that from a social point of view, we are ready to face the great challenge of our time," said President Barroso.
