An Anticompetitive Europe Must Not Rise

The following is an extract from an article under the above title by Declan Ganey in Business Week, linked here:

The Will of the People

Yes, we spent most of the past hundred years (as well as centuries before that) in internecine blood baths. But this is our opportunity to tell the world, "We're back, we're better, and we're ready to compete to make the world a better place." On this voyage, only the citizens of Europe can forge the way. The Brussels elite must be held accountable at the ballot box. We have come too far for Presidents to be appointed rather than elected. If this elite is to govern, and right now they do, they must subject themselves to the consent of Europe's citizenry. Without that, we are mere subjects.

Vaclav Havel once said, "Europe speaks to my head but says nothing to my heart." Too many leaders across Europe ignore the will of the people, insist on the resurrection of this undead constitution, and revert reflexively to introverted protectionist policies. In doing so, they drain hope, innovation, competitive strength, and faith in Europe, thus risking our collective future. As for the even more appalling version of a constitution now being passed off by Angela Merkel and friends as a reform treaty, I'd humbly suggest leaving it in the tomb to which the enlightened citizens of France and the Netherlands consigned it.