Europe needs an engine, not a shock absorber
Association of German Banks symposium in Hamburg

09 Nobember 2005 – Only one in four Germans still believes that Germany benefits from membership of the European Union. This is one of the findings of a representative survey commissioned by the Association of German Banks. “The former optimism regarding Europe has turned to disenchantment and scepticism”, said Manfred Weber, Chief Executive and Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of German Banks. When asked which region in the world they regard as the most successful economically, only 13 percent of Germans named the EU. 17 percent put the US in first place and as many as 64 percent mentioned China.

“If Europe is to regain its economic dynamism, reforms are needed at European and national level”, Weber stressed. A globalisation fund of the kind recently proposed would be of no help, he argued. “We don’t need a shock absorber, we need a more powerful engine!” Europe needed above all to press ahead with structural reforms. An honest debate on financial policy was also overdue. “The EU budget must measure up to the needs of Europe’s future, not its past. We are carrying too much baggage and thus have too little scope to shape our future.” This did not mean, however, that responsibility for Europe’s success lay in Brussels alone. It also lay in Berlin.

What form a successful, growth-oriented policy for Europe might take will be debated today at a symposium organised by the Association of German Banks and the Hamburg Bankers’ Association. Speakers include Hamburg’s First Mayor Ole von Beust, Gesine Schwan, President of the Viadrina European University, and Dennis Snower, President of the Kiel Institute for World Economics. With its 13th “German Questions” symposium, the Association of German Banks is continuing its series of regional discussions on issues of current socio-political interest. A documentary record of the symposium will be available shortly (in German) from the Association of German Banks.