This article isn't going to be as festive as it might initially seem. For those of you unfamiliar with the expression, it means that you support actions that will probably result in your own demise. Moreover, this expression seems fitting in respect of some of the recent decisions of the European Union, decisions which I feel will do more harm than good for Europe economically, and are likely to discourage businesses from investing in Europe as well as encourage those already operating here to consider looking elsewhere.
Europe has a lot in its favour, and of course it would take a lot to encourage European businesses to flee the continent en masse, and similarly businesses from the USA, Asia and elsewhere will take a lot of putting off to avoid investing here. After all, this is a continent of relatively high living standards and political stability (albeit, not as much as before the recent recession), with significant wealth and well-established industries concentrated in Western Europe.
However, renowned for passing daft directives, the European Union has made three decisions recently which are likely to add another setback to the European economy in the short term and, in the longer term, potentially encourage businesses to leave or stay away. Firstly, it was the restrictions placed on which vacuum cleaners can be purchased in Europe due to their wattage. Not only does it give rise to the question of "Can't people be left to decide for themselves what vacuum cleaners?", but more seriously it is interference with the European economy at a time when it is already fragile.
Secondly, there is the cap on bankers' bonuses. Many complain about bankers and their income (which is understandable to an extent, given the role some of them played in financial crisis and numerous scandals- but then again, it's difficult to find an industry that it is unblemished), but ultimately I feel that, as private companies, what they pay their employees is their business- and it's not the government's place to interfere. What harm does it do society if someone is paid £2,000,000 a year instead of £200,000 out of company profits? If anything, it results in larger tax contributions that benefit the masses.
One can see the moral reasons for interference such as the minimum wage at one end of the spectrum- but how does society gain from restricting the pay of those at the other end of the spectrum, except for a childish "serves you right" attitude that doesn't seem to practically benefit anyone. Clearer to see is that banks may well try and get round this by increasing salaries to compensate for the reduced bonuses; an approach which has been criticised because, whilst bonuses can be increased and reduced annually depending on the company's performance, but salaries are expected to increase year-on-year or at least stay the same. So larger salaries commit companies to steadily increasing costs on staff, regardless of company profits, which will either jeopardise company's economic stability or make redundancies more likely. Restrictions on bonuses also hinder Europe's ability to compete in terms of the financial incentives it provides for those working in that sector. Those most successful, looking for higher bonuses, are unlikely to shrug their shoulders and say "that's fair enough"- it could be the motivation behind relocation to similarly well-established and stable economies of Japan or North America, or those with greater growth prospects in South America, the Middle East or elsewhere in Asia.
Finally, there was the announcement that the European Parliament believes the company Google should be broken up for the sake of competition. Whilst there may be merit in the argument, Google can't be broken up because its an American, not a European, company. So it is a decision which can't have much impact on the Google, and yet sends a message of European hostility out to large companies who can play an important role in improving the European economy.
This is why I have described the recent decisions and announcements coming from the European Union as further evidence of the turkeys voting for Christmas: European politicians and civil servants criticising and interfering with the businesses that can speed up Europe's progress towards economic recovery. Instead, with each of these decisions, the EU is effectively adding to an ever-increasing list of reasons why companies should look beyond Europe for somewhere to do business.
