Profit explosion. Explaining why his group voted against the European Parliament's resolution on the Lisbon Strategy (see this column yesterday), Francis Wurtz, President of the European United Left group, put forward various arguments, one of which is worthy of further consideration. He quoted an article from “The Economist” which “acknowledges an explosion in the profits of large companies. Their share of GDP in Europe has reached a level which has not been seen for 25 years (…), the staff are the ones losing out”. I have read several articles in the daily press taking stock of the same situation in several countries, France and Belgium in particular. I didn't choose left-wing titles out of a great love of polemics. The “Figaro Economie” begins its comments: “rarely have French companies been so rich, rarely have they returned such good results as they did in 2004”, which led to a boom in the dividends paid out to shareholders. “Le Soir” says very much the same of big Belgian companies, stating that those benefiting from business's good health are not only the shareholders, but also the managers. In Italy, an editorial in “Corriere della Sera” spoke of huge profits made over several years, but never reinvested.
I shan't continue with this press review, nor claim that the lack of solidarity is exclusive to bosses and managers. A long-standing familiarity with European affairs allows me to state that similar situations exist in all categories: salaried staff, farmers, the liberal professions. It looks very much as though there is a profound deterioration in the very notion of solidarity, between different categories but also within each category. I do not claim that all shortfalls are equally serious; the higher up the income scale these solidarity gaps occur, the more they are to be criticised; and it is clear that the disenfranchised of our society are in the category of the victims. What I mean is that selfishness reigns wherever you go, that the world demands its rights but very rarely agrees to the other side of that coin, its duties. Solidarity as a value is no longer acknowledged in behaviour, with the possible exception of speeches. The lack of solidarity between generations is starting to be criticised, be it on budgetary deficits (which benefits the generation in power to the detriment of tomorrow's generations) and pensions (the cost of which will be borne by the young people of today). But this is just one aspect, but solidarity should be seen as a priority value in all areas.
A few examples. I will surely be asked to provide examples. I would like to refer to a few episodes fished almost at random from my memory. In agriculture, I cite the “overcompensation” which was discovered in cereals a few years ago. The Commission noted that the loss resulting from changes to the common market organisation had been calculated wrongly: the cereal farmers were getting more than was due to them. Attempts to correct the mistakes yielded no results. I called for an explanation at a COPA press conference; the answer came back: “acquired rights”. Hundreds of millions of euros! As for workers' unions, the same principle of acquired rights is invoked by the French rail workers to demand the right to retire at 55, which might have been fair enough half a century ago with coal-fired locomotives, but now it is an abusive discrimination which, in practice, creates two categories of citizens: those with the right to stop working whilst they are in their prime, and those who have to wait ten years more. No union would dare to speak out against this anomaly, highly expensive to the public coffers though it is (I say no union, because individually, many unionists have told me that they see it as an abuse). And among the women rightly demanding equality with men, none of them talk about giving up the privilege enjoyed by Italian women of getting their pension 5 years before the men… As for the liberal professions, several of these are protected by bodies which they themselves manage. Mario Monti, in his last period as European Commissioner for Competition, tried to pave the way for openness and liberalisation, but was met by a brick wall; however, abusive tariffs and closing off access to the profession are quite startling in some case, and startlingly expensive to the economy.
Making a success of Lisbon. At least a partial return to solidarity is needed, especially if the Lisbon Strategy is to be a success. What we have discovered in recent years, like ego peaks at managerial level, with the abusive use of stock options and extravagant pay cheques, casts a shadow over incessant calls for tax breaks and State aid to business. But who is without sin? Solidarity as a concept needs to be rebuilt. (F.R.)