Trade Minister Lefebvre: Socialist candidate Hollande to break EU Growth Motor:Innovative Investment

*Strasbourg/- The "motor" of sustainable Growth : Businesses' innovative Investment, according to France's and EU's Strategic Priorities, must be safeguarded against various Threats by controversial "Socialist" cadidate to the forthcoming Presidential Elections of April/May 2012, Hollande, to "break" it by disrupting the "balance"' between Business Initiative and the State, strongly warned Trade, Services and SME's Minister, Frederic Lefebvre, speaking at a meeting of the Union of Craftsmen of Alsace region, in the presence of Strasbourg's Journalists including "EuroFora".

He made that point while Businesses' Innovative Investments' policy, spearheaded in Europe mainly by France, Germany and other EU Countries in order to boost Competitiveness, limit State's Debts, develop Higher Technology Exports in a recently Globalized World Economy with heavy competition has recently started to give Positive Factual Indicatios that it might be starting to win the race, with a careful but steadily growing and new, sustainable Growth emerging at the end of 2011 and expected to rise mainly at the second half of 2012 as well all through 2013, as recentl frequent augmentations in Stock Markets, the success of ECB's massive, low-cost Loans to EU Banks, the Signature of €uroArea Governance's Treaty, €urozone's Sovereign Debt's Stabilisation and agreements to settle the Debt on Greece and Ireland's progress for recovery, France's and other EU Countries' higher than expected 2011's End's Growth, €uroarea's better results on Foreign Trade, etc, while, on the contrary, at the same time, on the contrary, USA's Economy (whose Strategy is notoriously driven also by classic Consumption's support) started to have growing Problems in Debts and recently even in Foreign Trade Deficit, particularly with €uroarea, (See various relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReports).

- Lefebvre reminded that French "President Sarkozy gave the Priority to Innovative Investment", and pointed to the "wonderful example" of Franco-German SME "Novalix", based in Strasbourg, which had been already visited by Sarkozy on December 2009, when he anounced here the overall policy of a more than     35 Billions "Great Loan" for pioneer Investments in Universities, Scientific Research and Technologic Development projects, Digital Economy, etc, (See "EuroFora"s NewsReports from that event) : He observed that, in this case, that SME, working on new pharmaceutical and other products with avant-guarde Research in Chemistry, Medicine and Bio-Physics, by "using all Tools that we set up during the last 4 years in order to support innovative Investment", Fiscal facilities to Research, Funds for "Initiatives of Excellence", in cooperation with Universities, etc., succeeded to "grow its Turnover from  3,5 Millions € up to 8 Millions € just between 2009 and 2011 !".

+ Moreover, "while initial Forecats predicted a slight recession of - 0,1% during the "Hard" period of the last trimester of 2011, on the contrary, France succeeded to obtain at least a + 0,2% Growth, mainly thanks to an augmentation of Businesses' Investment for + 1,4%", Minister Lefebvre added, as another, Nationwide, concrete example in the same direction.     

- It's almost since the period of De Gaulle (back in the 1960ies+) that France hadn't yet seen other so really Big Inverstments, particularly on Infrastructures, as it has a chance to built now, since, after notoriously stoping for many years, on the contrary, recently, Innovative Investments have become the No 1 Priority of all Economic policies at EU's core, including in Germany and, in France alone, including with the more than 35 Billions' strong "Great Loan" set up from 2010 for "Initiatives of Excellence" and many other such projects, which are still being selected in order to be funded now,  he observed.

- But, instead of safeguarding the existing "delicate Balance between Businesses and the State", which is now "a Partner of Enterprises", particularly when they invest on innovation (See supra), on the contrary, several recent positions taken by controversial "Socialist" candidate Hollande, in fact, threaten to seriously disrupt that delicate Balance, and "break" EU's new "Motor for Growth", (i.e. Businessses'  investments on Innovation), denounced Lefebvre, pointing at Measures brandissed by the French "Socialist" Party's representative to "Impose" certain "Obligations" to Businesses and/or other entities, Private or Public, which have adopted the model of an Enterprise,  (as, f.ex. a  Public Electricity or Telephone Company,  a University with "Autonomy" status, etc),

Indeed, one of Hollande's recent  such projects concerned Universities, including those who have already opted for an "Autonomy" regime, and anounced his intention to impose the obligation to Hire all Students admitted in order to prepare a PhD Thesis, transforming them into a sepcial category of full-time Workers with a professional status, Salary, etc.

 - "But, this would completely destroy the currently existing Equilibrium between the "Autonomy" of Universities and their Cooperation with the Government", between Freedom of Academic  Research and Enterprises, etc., particularly thanks to a series of instruments recently created, as such of Fiscal facilities for Research, Funding of "Initiatives of Excellence", "Poles of Competitivity", etc. On the contrary, such Measures, by imposing f.ex. massive obligations to hire professional workers, etc. will eliminate the Economic Logic which currently incites  Investment to Innovation, and seriously undermine the Future" of France and the EU "by  breaking down this Motor of Growth", (Comp. Supra),  Lefebvre warned.

This would be particularly scandalous if it occured now, when EU's specific Stratregy for the road leading out of the Global Crisis, seems to have just started to yield, still insufficient but steadily  growing Positive Results, clearly indicating that EU may have really found a successful, Winning formula..

+  [He could obviously add, in this particular case, that, if such Obligations to "transform all Students-Researchers preparing a PhD Doctoral thesis into full-time Professional Workers, earning a Salary, etc", as Mr. Hollande's team apparently wants, then, this would, in real practice, also Threaten Citizens' Freedom and Right to have Access to University Studies and Research according to Academic Criteria f.ex. of Knowledge, Capacity, Success to Examinations, Good Notes obtained during previous University studies, etc., since, in that case, even the most Brillant among University Students might find unacceptable Obstacles to even start and/or continue a Doctoral Thesis opposed to them under various Hypocritical pretexts, simply because one or another Irresponsible  Official or University Department might not wish, and/or even not have enough Funds in order to "Hire" more Students preparing a PhD, and/or prefer, for various, sometimes scandalously Arbitrary motivations, to give a "Professional Pay" to other Students, even of lesser Academic level, even with Lower Notes, etc... An obvious Risk which would seriously undermine Unversity Students' Right  to prepare a Doctoral Thesis in this or another domain of their Free Choice, if they have the relevant Academic and intellectual Capacities and level  : An obviously Fundamental issue which risks to affect even the Structure of any Society ].
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Meanwhile, given also the fact that the controversial "Socialist" candidate recently complained that nobody among the biggest EU Countries' Leaders has ever accepted to meet him, (neither German Chancellor Angie Merkel, nor the Prime Ministers of the UK, Italy, Poland or Spain,  Cameron, Monti, Tusk or Rajoy, etc., after similar refusals even in the US or China, etc), after he threatened to Block the Ratification and ask a Revision of the New Treaty on €uroArea's Governance decided Last Year (see "EuroFora"s NewsReports from August 16th Franco-German Summit at Elysée Palace in Paris, and from December's EU Summit in Brussels), and already signed last week by 25 EU Heads of State/Government, (See "EuroFora"s NewsReport from Berlin's Franco-German Summit of January 10 and from Brussel's EU Summit of Jan. 29, as well as our specific  publication on EAG Treaty), while he has also criticized the current Strategy which gives Priority to Innovative Investment and Competitiveness in order to create sustainable Growth able to boost a strong Foreign Trade balance in front of the Globalization, (instead of artificially pushing the Consumption, as usually in the Past),  Lefebvre had just denounced that yesterday :

- "It's strange that Mr. Hollande is surprised by the attitude of big European leaders in his regard", when "he starts by telling them" : -  " I won't respect the (€uroArea Governance) Treaty that you have negociated all together, even if France has signed it with you". "And, afterwards, he treats them, with intolerance and a lot of dedain, as Conservatives who impoverish the People, precisely at the moment that Europe is united and active in order to react to the Global Crisis, as it has rarely been done (in the Past)".

 - Indeed, "it's rare to collect smiles by slaping someone in the face", and "it's even more surprising to make a complaint" afterwards, Lefebvre (who, in addition to his current Ministerial Job on Trade, SME's, etc., holds also a deep Experience as former Press Spokesman of the Governing Party UMP), had reportedly concluded on this point.
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On the contrary, returning towards his main purpose to speak about concrete measures in favour of "a Partnership between the State and Businesses", particularly on Investment-related matters, (Comp. supra), the French Minister briefly highlighted also other, supplementary Measures recently taken in order to facilitate f.ex. the Creation of New Enterprises, (including with the particular, simplified status of "Individual Business of Limited Responsibility (Liability)" (EIRL),  protection of Craftsmen's know-how, Training, facilitation of Access to Banks' Loans, etc.

After visiting earlier also a performant, Organ-maker and/or repair Business at Strasbourg's outskirts, "Mulheisen", whose staff has alteady received many individual awards of the "Best Worker of France" for the Quality of its work, while serving both the German and the French side of Rhine river, Lefebvre developed the idea that, "in nowadays' Globalization,  Standardisation makes the World feel stronger the need for Authentic Quality, and this is a great opportunity for the Intelligence and Know-How that we have in Europe", which "must be protected" and developed further, as he said on the occasion of Craftsmen's obvious, well deserved Pride, which was honoured by the award of Prizes to "Businesses of Living Heritage" to various Crafts, from Organ-makers ("exporting up to Russia and even Japan"), up to Shoe-makers, special Whisky producers, Flower-shops, Sculptors, etc., who provided several concrete examples of the fact that "Tradition and Innovation" can co-exist also in Historic Craft-work, able even to Export abroad", as he pointed out, after  a debate on modern "Digital Innovation" measures to boost Modern Craftsmanship's capacity to create also more Qualified Jobs in performant Enterprises, in the wider framework of EU's current focus on facilitating SME's Employment potential, (Comp. "EuroFora"'s NewsReport from January 2012 Brussels' EU Summit).