EU bid to catch US economy ‘a big failure': Prodi
AFP, London
Europe's efforts to catch up to and then outpace the US economy have been "a big failure," the outgoing head of the European Union executive commission, Romano Prodi, told the Financial Times in an interview published Monday. "You can't have unanimity in all economic areas, or if you do, you must accept the failure of Lisbon," said Prodi, president of the European Commission. EU leaders pledged at the Lisbon summit in 2000 to increase economic growth in a bid to compete with the US economy. "Lisbon is a big failure," Prodi said. He said the requirement of a unanimous vote by all member states was responsible for paralyzing critical reform in the 25-nation bloc. The Financial Times added that an upcoming report on the EU's economic reforms, prepared by former Dutch prime minister Wim Kok, would slam the bloc for a lack of political will and warn that it risks becoming "a synonym for missed objectives and failed promises." Prodi is due to step down and return to Italian politics. His designated successor is former Portuguese premier Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, whose 24-strong team of commissioners will be voted on Wednesday in Strasbourg.
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