[BILD1]I början på sommaren ställde Nicolas Sarkozy frågan ”What has competition done for Europe?” I går hade jag nöjet att som co-chairman för Brysselbaserade think-tanken EEI introducera en skrift som svar på den frågan med bland annat följande reflektion:
In a time when Europes leading role is challenged for the first time in centuries, we should stick to the competition that made Europe great. In the future no region of the world will be able to lead the world that as Europe once did. Today, people in other parts of the world also profit from the opportunities of competition. There are therefore now many more producers to rival our own, but also more consumers of our goods and services, as long as we maintain our high standard of production and development.
Thats why Europe needs competition even more than in the past, as competition is not just about better quality, or more efficient production and lower prices, or plurality of products and services, or the freedom of choice. Though all these factors are important, and a result of free competition. But more importantly, competition makes it possible to do things better than good. There is always an opportunity to develop something that is even better than good products and services. Not because the old ones are bad but because the new ones are even better.
Skriften som vi presenterade är skriven av Johnny Munkhammar, en av de skickligare och kunnigare debattörerna inom detta område och den har titeln What competition has done for Europe . Många var där för presentationen och diskussionen, dock inte Sarkozy. Han får istället skriften med post.