Says It All, Really

Quite apart from the central point of Pamela aka Atlas' article here, British readers should have a good look down the index of countries and their GDP increases for 2005. A LONG look, if you are looking for the thing I was looking for. EU countries near the top of the performance list.

Its a very clear indictment of the nightmarish economic stagnation that is the EU that you have to go all the way to Number 24 to find Latvia, which is of course an Enlargement country and so hasnt had time to be dragged down quite as far as some of the 'old' Member States. Next is Lithuania - next door to Latvia. Next Estonia - also next door weighs in at 49, but you have to go all the way down to 65 to find the Oirish - and they themselves are probably the second most heavily subsidised EU state after the Spanish.

True, three more Enlargement countries manage to slip in at the very bottom of the top 100. But isnt it a savage indictment of EU economic policy that only seven countries manage to make it in, and that six of those are new entrants who havent become bogged down in the regulatory quagmire yet?

Oh, and by the way. Number 115. Without adopting the Euro. Really does say it all.