Protectionist forces bedevil EU

“Protectionism” is like “terrorism”. Now, before people get upset I should make myself clear. What I mean is the use of the two words is similar – one person’s terrorism is another’s freedom-fighting. In the same way, what one government calls “protectionism” another may see simply as a way of safeguarding jobs. On 1 March EU leaders will gather in Brussels for what is being billed as a “protectionism summit”. The idea is to head off what many see as a shift towards measures that incentivise large firms to favour investing in one member state over another, not for sound business reasons but because of the subsidies on offer. This is an abhorrent sin in the eyes of the eurocrats who run the…

Read More