Jose Manuel Barroso claims he no longer has to be careful about what he says. But that has not stopped him from being an incurable optimist about Europe’s ability to wrest global economic hegemony from the US and China.
“We said consistently that we were going to show the resilience of the EU and the eurozone,” he told the World Travel & Tourism Council’s Global Summit in Madrid. “Today we have 19 countries in the euro – more than were even members of the EU ten years ago. So the question I want to ask is: can you speak about decline when an organisation is expanding as it is. Europe is still the most important economy in thr world, by far the biggest trade bloc in the world and the biggest power in terms of tourism and travel. So Europe is an economic giant and I think we can be confident about Europe.”
“You can say that’s too small but it’s sustainable,” said Barroso. “Before, we had growth that was unsustainable, driven mainly by high levels of debt. There’s been a revision. reform is ongoing and with the notable exception of Greece, growth is coming back”.
“There’s an intellectual glamour about pessimism in Europe,” he said in Madrid. “People want to show they are more brilliant at being more pessimistic than each other. But the reality is that Europe is recovering and is able once again to create jobs. Please don’t think that this is wishful thinking from the president of the European Commission. I am no longer at the European Commission. My level of sincerity is increasing day by day and I can speak now as a free person.”
