Europa Forum Panelists Discuss Impact of E.U. Expansion
Luis Carbajo, MBA 2
Issue date: 3/21/05 Section: News
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On Friday, March 18, the Europa Forum brought together business leaders, distinguished politicians, academic luminaries, and students creating a conversation about transatlantic issues. Invited speakers as well as University of Michigan faculty presented their experiences and views on the past, present, and future of the European Union.
Opening remarks were delivered by James Adams, Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. He emphasized the need of better understanding of the economic and political relations between the E.U. and the U.S.
In the first panel, Robert D. Sloan, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Entergy Corporation, related the problems of the General Electric-Honeywell merger, a process that he played an active role in as General Counsel of GE Industrial Systems. He maintained that there is little evidence to prove that the merger was handled in an overtly political fashion, despite many recent press reports and books to the contrary.
In the second panel, Moreno Bertoldi, of the Delegation of the European Commission in the U.S., discuseed the growth rate of the European Union. According to Bertoldi, if the growth rates of the U.S. and E.U. are compared, and an adjustment is made for the differences in population growth, the growth rate of the E.U. is very similar to that of the U.S. Bertoldi also explained the social impact that the E.U. has in the countries that join the E.U., he pointed out that the E.U. will help these countries to grow faster than the E.U. average in order to catch up the social differences between new and old members.
At this panel, Alan Deardorff, Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan, discussed the effect of the enlargement of markets on the European Union. Based on his research, he concluded that normally large countries benefit the most from E.U. expansion and that small countries usually benefit either decades after entering the E.U. or don't benefit at all.
Opening remarks were delivered by James Adams, Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan. He emphasized the need of better understanding of the economic and political relations between the E.U. and the U.S.
In the first panel, Robert D. Sloan, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Entergy Corporation, related the problems of the General Electric-Honeywell merger, a process that he played an active role in as General Counsel of GE Industrial Systems. He maintained that there is little evidence to prove that the merger was handled in an overtly political fashion, despite many recent press reports and books to the contrary.
In the second panel, Moreno Bertoldi, of the Delegation of the European Commission in the U.S., discuseed the growth rate of the European Union. According to Bertoldi, if the growth rates of the U.S. and E.U. are compared, and an adjustment is made for the differences in population growth, the growth rate of the E.U. is very similar to that of the U.S. Bertoldi also explained the social impact that the E.U. has in the countries that join the E.U., he pointed out that the E.U. will help these countries to grow faster than the E.U. average in order to catch up the social differences between new and old members.
At this panel, Alan Deardorff, Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan, discussed the effect of the enlargement of markets on the European Union. Based on his research, he concluded that normally large countries benefit the most from E.U. expansion and that small countries usually benefit either decades after entering the E.U. or don't benefit at all.
