EU 'behind US' in competitiveness

A study by the World Economic Forum suggests most EU countries, including those due to join on 1 May, are lagging behind the US on competitiveness. Only Finland, Denmark and Sweden ranked higher than the US among the 25 EU members (as of 1 May).
Finland, whose largest company is the mobile phone firm Nokia, scored particularly highly on information society, innovation, and networking.
The Nordic countries also scored highly on social inclusion and sustainable development.
The UK, which came fourth after the Scandinavians, scored better on liberalisation and financial services, but lower on social inclusion and innovation.
The eight measures of competitiveness were: an information society for all; innovation and R&D; liberalisation of the single market; building network industries; creating efficient financial services; improving the enterprise culture; increasing social inclusion; and enhancing sustainable development.