Industry's biggest names have issued a damning mid-year report card showing politicians have made little progress on key areas like broadband rollout, promoting private research investment and political agreement on climate change.
In February, the European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT) published a detailed list of actions which would put the EU on course for sustainable recovery. The 'Europe on Track' indicators include a number of "quick wins" – swift changes politicians could make as a signal of their intent to reboot European industry.
The move was designed to hold politicians to account and is seen as a vote of no confidence in EU leaders' capacity for bold responses to the crisis.
So far, the verdict is far from flattering. The ERT says that while imminent agreement on the Europe 2020 growth plan is welcome, the strategy fails to commit governments to impact assessments on legislation once it has been adopted.
The political elite also come under fire for failing to develop "lead markets" and for not fostering a meaningful public debate on the 2020 plan.
EU leaders are expected to sign off on the Europe 2020's five headline targets tomorrow after months of political wrangling over education and poverty goals (EurActiv 16/06/10).
Companies fear tax hikes
Separately, BusinessEurope – a Brussels-based business lobby group – issued its blueprint for discipline and growth in the euro zone.
It calls for "an ambitious growth agenda" in Europe, warning that relying solely on austerity measures may not be enough to steer economies out of crisis. Employers want more flexibility, job creation measures, support for training schemes and reform of social security systems.
There are also concerns that tax increases will be of limited value in plugging fiscal deficits and may even prove counterproductive.
BusinessEurope is also urging EU leaders to strengthen budgetary surveillance by introducing a system of penalties and sanctions for countries guilty of fiscal indiscipline – an item expected to be a bone of contention at tomorrow's summit.
A European Monetary Fund should be a medium-term goal, according to the business group, along with mechanisms that allow for "public debt restructuring and orderly default in last-resort situations".
Public finances on 'unsustainable' path
Economists at the European Policy Centre (EPC), a think-tank, have also weighed in ahead of the EU summit by publishing a league table ranking member states according to their economic sustainability.
It rates Sweden and Denmark as the most stable, followed by Estonia – which is expected to join the euro zone in January 2011. At the bottom of the table is Greece, followed by Italy and Portugal – all of which are classed as being "unsustainable".
A further nine countries are said to be "in danger", beginning with Spain, Lativa and Romania.
This comes in the wake of the EU executive's decision to close "excessive deficit procedures" against 12 member states and open new cases against Cyprus, Denmark and Finland.
The EPC says structural reforms are necessary if future crises are to be avoided.
