EU member states observe an elaborate process to preserve macroeconomic stability: the macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP). The MIP is supposed to monitor and prevent macroeconomic imbalances – and if necessary, correct them. It considers a variety of variables to determine the existence...

The Lisbon strategy of the year 2000 failed: the share of R&D spending in Europe remains below the 3 percent of GDP target, far behind that of the US and China. EU companies spend much less on R&D than their US peers and concentrate their innovation activities on midtech instead high-tech...