Slippery Slope

Giles Merritt describes himself as a 'sceptical europhile'. For many years among the foremost commentators on the politics and economics shaping Europe, he was named by the Financial Times as one of 30 'Eurostars' who are the most influential voices in Brussels. Slippery Slope is far from the usual run of uncritical EU-related studies. Its aim is to set alarm bells ringing across Europe with its revealing insights into our increasingly troubled future. Giles Merritt argues that the steepness and suddenness of Europe's decline in the 'Asian century' will depend on the actions we Europeans undertake. And there are two key lessons that we need to face from the beginning. Firstly, the 'good times' aren't coming back without a massive effort on our part. And secondly, in a fast-developing world of 9-10 billion people, no single European country can survive and prosper on its own. Merritt sets out to sort fact from fiction in his analysis of Europe's weaknesses, and the policies needed to address them. Placing the outlook for Europe in its global context, he assesses Europe's decline in relative as well as absolute terms, and puts forward an ambitious but realistic 'to do' list for Europe's policymakers if our comparatively privileged life styles are not to be seriously threatened in the coming years. This is a hard-hitting warning that unless Europeans shake themselves awake their future will be increasingly gloomy. Anyone who believes that the economic crisis that began in 2008 is just a blip will find this book a salutary lesson in the reality of Europe's position. Giles Meritt's excellent and very readable book covers pretty comprehensively the issues which should be at the heart of the debate on Europe. We would be far better served in Britain if the discussion on Europe over the coming year took Meritt's book as its agenda. But other European citizens, not just the British, would be well served by confronting the challenges which Meritt covers. Chris Patten Giles Merritt's analysis is first rate - essential reading for those who want to keep investing in this vital project. Peter Mandelson