Study: EU Economy 22 Years behind U.S.

On the eve of a European summit, the Eurochambers business lobby says the U.S. reached the current EU rate of GDP per capita in 1985

BusinessWeek.com (Europe), March 6, 2007 - Lucia Kubosova wrote,

The EU is 22 years behind the US on economic growth according to a new study, with several other economic indicators showing further gaps despite Europe's ambitious reform agenda to be praised by leaders at this week's summit.

A report by Eurochambers, the Brussels-based business lobby, published on Monday (5 March) argues that the US reached the current EU rate of GDP per capita in 1985 and its levels in employment and research investment almost 30 years ago.

Economic growth, jobs and innovation feature as top priorities of the so-called Lisbon Agenda - agreed by EU leaders in 2000 - with the original aim for Europe to become the most competitive economy by 2010 and with the US seen as its key competitor.

However, according to the Eurochambers study, the EU time lag behind the US has expanded further since 2003 when the group published its first report comparing the economic indicators on both sides of the Atlantic. Continued...