EUROPEAN Community costs and bureaucracy come under sharp criticism
today from the Confederation of British Industry in a memorandum to
commission president Jacques Delors. The CBI also puts forward proposals
for increasing the EC's competitiveness.
It emphasises, not for the first time, that the EC has lost a fifth of
its share of world trade since 1980 and one worker in 10 is unemployed.
It risks losing even more trade and jobs unless it takes urgent steps to
reduce costs and bureaucracy.
The memorandum has been sent by CBI president Sir Michael Angus in
response to the European Commission's White Paper ''Growth,
Competitiveness and Employment'' to be presented to leaders at a
Brussels summit on December 11. The CBI highlights a range of evidence
suggesting that Europe is losing competitiveness.
Competition from newly industrialised countries is likely to intensify
over the current decade. The CBI again calls for an early completion of
the GATT round of trade talks and the development of the single market.
It wants more policies to encourage industrial development, more
flexible job markets, and a reduction in high public spending and
taxation.
The memorandum points out that exports of manufactures to outside the
Community fell from 22.4% of the world total in 1980 to 17.8% in 1992.
Since 1985, EC export volumes to the rest of the world have declined by
7% while import volumes have risen by 70%.
As a result, the Community moved from a trade surplus with the US in
the mid-1980s to a trade deficit in the early 1990s. The trade deficit
with Japan has widened during the same period. A substantial deficit
($11.3 billion in 1991) has emerged with the newly industrialised
countries of the Pacific Rim.
During the past decade, unit labour costs have risen 13% more than
those of the US, nearly 60% more than those of Japan and almost 9% more
than the average of nine major competitor countries. The CBI blames
inflexible wage structures, including minimum wages in most EC
countries.
The CBI is calling for the Community to adopt a six-point strategy to
enhance wealth generation and employment. A satisfactory GATT agreement
must be achieved to provide a stable and open international trading
environment.
Europe needs a strong competitive domestic market as a platform to
meet tough international competition, the CBI says.
The single market must be consolidated and developed though more
even-handed enforcement of trade regulations, opening up markets where
significant barriers still exist, implementation of a strong competition
policy, and a continued reduction in state aid to industry.
The CBI says more flexible labour markets must be promoted and
Community regulation stemmed.
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