“Not all good things are compatible, still less all the ideals of mankind,” wrote political theorist Isaiah Berlin. This used to be obvious to political economists: we have different ideals and different goals; there may be trade-offs between them, but not all can be pursued at the same time.
Someone in Brussels, however, seems to have solved this puzzle. Many have come to believe that European institutions can combine a leaner approach, a degree of simplification and deregulation, with a strong industrial policy and the ambition to steer private investment and activity toward Brussels. The Multiannual Financial Framework is the latest embodiment of this attitude.
The jewel in the crown is the new European Competitiveness Fund, conceived as a centrally managed European Union fund to channel investment into sectors deemed strategic for Europe’s long-term competitiveness. However, this new instrument is unlikely to make a difference in narrowing the gap with the U.S. capacity to generate disruptive innovation.
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