13/09/06 Does Europe mean business?

Wednesday, 13 September 2006 06:52

In his speech at the Financial Times debate 'Does Europe really mean business?' on Tuesday in Brussels, José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission spoke of the relevance of the Commission in preparing the EU for the global challenges, claiming that the future will not go away; indeed, he said it would come at us even faster than we expect. Though he overstated the EU's role in the world he did speak one truth: He said 'Look at the facts before you listen to the comment'. Two facts he omitted however are that EU citizens are tired of EU institutions and that EU leaders seem, simply, tired. So its not so much whether Europe really means business but whether Europe has the leaders to do the business.