Through the single market, the European economy is heavily interdependent; it is an economic family. In 2009 survival is the name of the game. But businesses also need to get in shape for the recovery. The single market is not a luxury for the good times; it is a prime cause of the good times. Choosing to light the fire of protectionism would be the economic equivalent of arson.

Jobs and businesses are already disappearing. Governments have to address short-term problems, but without undermining long-term recovery. In the long term it is businesses that create jobs, not governments.