Europe, and the UK’s position in Europe, has been a source of divided opinion for decades, with this article from a quarter of a century ago demonstrating just how complex the issue continued to be
In 1994, Sarah Lambert argued that the reality of the ‘frontier-free’ Europe that the single market promised, was in fact a disappointment to investors. The single market hadn’t cut red tape, or generated economies of scale, she felt.
Instead, Lambert felt, the single market was having plenty of growing pains. In the June 1994 issue of Professional Investor, she examined the progress made by the single market from an investor point of view. She argued that it was still a bureaucratic nightmare, and blamed the European Commission for ‘over-selling’ the business opportunities a frontier free Europe offered.
“If the voters, polled in a series of referendums in the Autumn, turn down membership the Union will have largely itself to blame for having thrown up yet another chance to enhance investment opportunities through economies of scale,” she argued.
However, Lambert also acknowledged that the single market had huge potential, with investors still attracted by Europe’s 340 million consumers, and the promises of growth from former communist countries.
