February 22, 2007 7:41PM # The European Commission Is Free Market?!? By [Daniel J. Mitchell](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-mitchell) --- SHARE There is nothing terribly newsworthy in [a story from the *EU Observer*](http://euobserver.com/9/23545/?rk=1) about a move to the left by the European Commission, but it is revealing that the report indicates that the Brussels-based bureaucracy has a free market reputation. This is, after all, the bureaucracy that pushes for tax harmonization between countries and operates a Soviet-style agricultural subsidy system. But, then again, maybe the bureaucrats are free market when compared to French and German politicians: > The European Commission on Wednesday appeared to be trying to shrug off its reputation as a free-market bulwark, releasing a vision on the future of the EU’s single market which is notably sensitive to social concerns. > > > …The current team of commissioners led by Jose Manuel Barroso generally has a pro-market reputation, not least in Germany and France. > > > …The paper also states that “many European citizens have raised concerns about the perceived disruptive impacts of globalisation,” adding that it is a “matter of social justice” to “anticipate and accompany change for the people and sectors directly affected by the market opening.” Brussels already runs the so-called Globalisation Adjustment Fund which was introduced by Mr. Barroso in 2005 after French president Jacques Chirac criticised the EU for failing to respond to massive lay-offs in France by U.S. computer maker Hewlett-Packard. [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).