Competitiveness of the European Union

The improvement of Hungarian competitiveness is determined by its linkages to the concerning European developments and strategies. The first part of the study - starting from the competitiveness concept of the Scientific School - contains definitions and issues that will be used in the analysis. The European Union as an integration of national economies brings into the competitiveness analyses numerous new, additional elements that do not emerge on member-state level. The study introduces a model in order to describe and valuate the competitiveness of the EU considering the above-mentioned additional elements. Important feature of the model is the analysis of the single European market: this points to the issue that improving the competitiveness of a member state in itself is not sufficient, the coordinated development of regions and member states is required. The polarisation, the lack of a single strategy can impede the improvement of competitiveness even if certain parts achieve success. Strategy for a better European competitiveness must include advantages emerging from the competition of regions and member states, but also possibilities offered by the effective coordination of member states of the European single market. The second part of the study points to some important practical issues concerning competitiveness of the European Union, and on this base some conclusions regarding methodology and economic policy will be drawn as well.