<div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Sol Trumbo Vila</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:soltrumbovila@tni.org">soltrumbovila@tni.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Fri, Jun 27, 2014 at 5:01 PM<br>Subject: [Networkedlabour] New Primer: Unpacking Competitiveness<br>To: <a href="mailto:networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org">networkedlabour@lists.contrast.org</a><br><br><br>
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<b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">Whoever will be the next Commission president,
competitiveness wins.<u></u><u></u></span></b>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.15pt;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><img alt="" src="cid:part1.08000704.05070701@tni.org" height="280" width="197" align="left">Regardless of the final result of
the negotiations to elect the next European Commission
President, one word will be constantly repeated as a
priority for EU policies, “Competitiveness”.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.15pt;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">The Competitiveness Pact is the final stage of
the new EU economic governance architecture. In this report
elaborated by Transnational Institute (TNI) and the Attac
network we expose the myths and reality surrounding
competitiveness – and what it really means for the lives of
Europeans.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.15pt;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u>Check out the primer here:</u> <a href="http://www.tni.org/briefing/unpacking-competitiveness" target="_blank">http://www.tni.org/briefing/unpacking-competitiveness</a>
<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.15pt;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">In recent years EU institutions have developed
legislation at unprecedented speed. After the series of new
treaties (the ‘two-pack’, ‘six-pack’ and fiscal compact),
the Competitiveness Pact is the next step in demanding
member states follow a specific policy agenda. After years
of austerity failing to deliver the expected results,
‘competitiveness’ has become more important to the EU’s
strategy to overcome the European crisis. <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.15pt;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">Competitiveness is often mentioned by the
European Commission and the media in a positive way, but
without disclosing what hides behind the phrase. The
structural adjustment programs implemented in the countries
under the Troika regime, which prioritise ‘fiscal
consolidation </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">and boosting competitiveness’, have been used
to push austerity policies, privatisations and the weakening
of social and labour rights. <u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:14.15pt;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><big>This
report answers 9 critical questions:</big><u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-align:left;text-indent:0in" align="left"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">What do we understand by competitiveness?</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">What does competitiveness mean for the
European institutions? </span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><strong><span lang="EN-GB"><span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""></span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">What is the Competitiveness Pact? </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-weight:normal" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">Who or what are the interests behind the
pact?</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>5.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">What are the main criticisms?</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>6.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">What is the current status of the pact?</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>7.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">What might break the Competitiveness Pact?</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>8.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">What would be the consequences of failure to
enact the Competitiveness Pact?</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:14.15pt;margin-left:0in;text-indent:0in;line-height:normal"><span lang="EN-GB"><span>9.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">What opportunities would the blocking of the
Competitiveness Pact offer for European social movements?
</span></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"" lang="EN-GB">We hope this primer will help to open the debate
on what are the effects of the oncoming EU policy proposals,
who benefits, and the implications for the Europeans.<br>
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</span>
<em style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,'Bitstream Vera Sans',sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:15.996000289916992px;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Photo credit:<span> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/european_parliament/7979253698/" style="color:rgb(45,116,116);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">European
Parliament</a><span> </span>/<span> </span><a href="http://foter.com/" style="color:rgb(45,116,116);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">Foter</a><span> </span>/<span> </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/" style="color:rgb(45,116,116);text-decoration:none" target="_blank">Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC
BY-NC-ND 2.0)</a></em><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
<pre cols="72">--
Sol Trumbo Vila
Project Coordinator - EU Economic Governance
Transnational Institute (TNI)
<a href="mailto:soltrumbovila@tni.org" target="_blank">soltrumbovila@tni.org</a> - @Soltrumbo
+31 20 662 66 08</pre>
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