Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2014-02-04-Speech-2-347-000"
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"en.20140204.47.2-347-000"2
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"Mr President, where did we get the idea that big is beautiful? The European Union’s foundational doctrine is that the world is conglomerating into these huge blocks and we need to be part of one if we are to be wealthy or successful, but it just does not match the evidence. If it were true, then China would be wealthier than Hong Kong and Indonesia would be wealthier than Brunei and, for that matter, the European Union would be more successful than Switzerland.
In fact, the wealthiest people on the planet all live in micro-states: the United Arab Emirates, Jersey, Monaco and so on. This report is a brave attempt to try and shift power downwards, to take decisions more closely to the people they affect and therefore to avoid the duplication, the waste and bureaucracy which is intrinsic in large government and is the single chief reason why the European Union is falling further and further behind and why it is the only continent on earth not experiencing any growth. The ancient wisdom of Aristotle holds true: ‘To the size of a state there is a limit, as there is to plants, animals and implements, for they can none of them retain their facility when they are too large.’"@en1
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