Impetus for the establishment of the ERT The European economy in the early 1980s was suffering from "
eurosclerosis", that is, a lack of
innovation and competitiveness compared to the United States and Japan. Although the European economy was approximately the same size as that of the US, and its level of scientific development was broadly comparable, it was plagued by poor polices and fragmentation.
Pehr G. Gyllenhammar, the CEO of
Volvo, and 17 European business leaders created an organization in 1983 to speak out about the European economic situation and European industrial policy. ERT members used the United States
Business Roundtable, a group that meets with members of the
United States Congress and the
executive branch, as a partial model for their organization.
Early goals The
European single market has been described as "the issue that best defined the ERT's driving spirit". That is, to build a single internal market where goods, services, and capital could flow as freely within the
EU as in the US. As well, the ERT has emphasized the need for adequate infrastructure links (roads, high-speed trains, a Channel tunnel) to support cross-frontier trade and movement of people. A third major objective was to reduce unemployment by raising the level of labour skills, freeing up labour markets, and encouraging entrepreneurship. While "none of these ideas was particularly original...what was new was the pan-European approach." In 1984, the ERT unveiled its "Missing Links" project to improve Europe's transborder ground transportation infrastructure. This included a proposal for a road/rail tunnel linking the UK and France, a Scandinavian road/rail link to northern Germany, and a European high-speed train system. The ERT supported the
Oresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden and the
Fehmarn Belt Bridge. Other issues addressed during the ERT's busiest decade, 1988 to 1998, included the environment, job creation, and taxation. ==Focus issues: Trade, EU enlargement, and monetary union==