The attempt to shield one European country from competition by lowering the competitiveness of another makes all of us weaker. Europe as a whole has to become more dynamic, more inventive and more productive. This is not a new concept; it was already at the heart of the Lisbon strategy.
And one thing we have learned from the failure of this strategy is that commitments should always be binding. Against this backdrop, the new Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure is a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, in the end, competitiveness is always a relative concept. As the current accounts of deficit countries begin to adjust, the current accounts of countries with surpluses will automatically follow.