Planning and programming in the European Common Market

Abstract

This paper has examined the experience of the European Common Market with medium-term planning and programming since its establishment in 1968. It has been shownthat planning on the industry level and an inward-oriented economic policy are closely interrelated and that French planning was successful in a more-or-less autarchical environment. With entry into the Common Market, however, much of the usefulness of French planning has disappeared. In turn, its generally outward-looking stance, reflecting the interests of the other EEC countries in trade with non-member nations, has not been conducive to applying French methods of planning on the Common Market level.Programming in the EEC has been largely limited to the preparation of five-year projections and guidelines for policy making. But there have been substantial differences between projections and realization, and the projections have been of little value for public and private decision-making. Nor is there evidence that the Community's policy guidelines would have been followed by member country governments.The usefulness of projections could be enhanced if these were prepared for periods of 2–3 years and linked to multinational budgeting as well as to short-term policy making. In turn, a draft programme prepared by a group of senior statesmen, assisted by high-level experts, and subject to public discussion could provide a basis for reaching agreement on structural policies to be carried out during a four-year period corresponding to the tenure of the Commission. In this say, medium-term programming could become a programme of action for the Common Market.