EU Still Lags Behind US For Competitiveness - Study
Four years after its leaders pledged to make the European Union into the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010, only three member countries are more competitive than the U.S., according to the World Economic Forum.
In its second review of the E.U.'s so-called Lisbon Strategy , the WEF found that Finland, Denmark and Sweden are alone among member countries in surpassing the U.S.
Four southern European countries are actually less competitive than one future E.U. member. Estonia, which joins the E.U. May 1, scores higher in the WEF competitiveness review than Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, the 15-member bloc's worst performers.
The review aims to measure the extent to which the 15 E.U. members and 12 countries awaiting or aspiring to membership have brought about economic and structural reforms to increase their competitiveness.
"The study suggests that while much has been achieved, numerous challenges remain and policy makers in Europe will have to refocus their energies on accelerating the pace of reforms," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, the WEF's chief economist.
The rankings for the E.U., from top of the table to bottom, are: Finland, Denmark, Sweden, U.K., Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece.
Among future and aspiring E.U. countries, Slovenia comes in second to Estonia, and is followed by Latvia, Malta, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovak Republic, Poland, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria.
欧盟竞争力仍落后于美国－研究报告
据世界经济论坛(World Economic Forum)称，4年前欧盟(European Union)领导人承诺在2010年前将该地区建设成为全球最活跃的知识经济体，但迄今仅有3个成员国的竞争力超过美国。
世界经济论坛在对欧盟所奉行的里斯本策略(Lisbon Strategy)进行第二次评估时发现，芬兰、丹麦和瑞典是欧盟成员国中竞争力超过美国的仅有3个国家。
4个南欧成员国的竞争力甚至不及即将于5月1日加入欧盟的爱沙尼亚。西班牙、意大利、葡萄牙和希腊在世界经济论坛竞争力评估中的得分低于爱沙尼亚，也成为了15个欧盟成员国中表现最差的国家。
上述评估衡量了15个欧盟成员国和12个希望加入欧盟的国家为增强竞争力而进行的经济和结构改革的广度。
世界经济论坛首席经济学家Augusto Lopez-Claros称，上述研究表明，虽然欧盟取得了巨大成就，但仍面临众多的挑战。欧洲政策制定机构必须重新关注如何进一步加快欧盟改革的步伐。
评估对欧盟成员国竞争力的排名从高至低依次为：芬兰、丹麦、瑞典、英国、荷兰、德国、卢森堡、法国、奥地利、比利时、爱尔兰、西班牙、意大利、葡萄牙和希腊。
在即将加入或希望加入欧盟的国家排名中，爱沙尼亚位居榜首，其次分别为斯洛文尼亚、拉脱维亚、马耳他、捷克共和国、匈牙利、立陶宛、斯洛伐克共和国、波兰、土耳其、罗马尼亚和保加利亚。
(back)Japan's ANA To Buy 50 Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner Jets
Japan's second biggest airline, All Nippon Airways Co. (9202.TO), said Monday it plans to buy 50 of Boeing Co.'s (BA) new 7E7 Dreamliner jets, making it the first carrier to purchase the next-generation aircraft.
All Nippon Airways, commonly known as ANA, said it has selected the airplane as part of its plan to replace its fleet of mid-size planes.
ANA said it expects to introduce the 7E7 jets gradually from the fiscal year starting April 2008. A specific timetable will be decided around this summer.
The airline declined to comment on the value of the order, although Boeing said it's worth about $6 billion.
The move is part of ANA's plan to cut the number of models in each size category to one. ANA was operating 52 B767-300, two 767-200 and seven Airbus (ABI.YY) A321 in its mid-size fleet as of its March 31 book closing. Eventually, ANA will use only B7E7 in that category.
The selection of the 7E7 is also in line with ANA's strategy to reduce costs. ANA said it expects the use of the 7E7 will lead to overall operating cost savings of Y10 billion annually.
In the small aircraft category, ANA has already selected Boeing's B737 next-generation models to replace its small airplanes from 2005. It plans to buy 45 Boeing 737-700 jetliners for $2.4 billion. Delivery is slated to begin from December 2005.
At the end of March, ANA was operating four types of large jetliners: 23 B747-400, nine B747SR/LR, seven B777-300 and 16 B777-200. It remains undecided on which aircraft it will focus on in the large aircraft category.
日本全日空将订购50架波音7E7
日本的全日空(All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd., 9202.TO)宣布将购买50架波音公司(Boeing Co., BA)计划生产的7E7型飞机，这使得波音公司有足够的订单来生产这款最新的飞机。
全日空是过去几个月中50多家与波音谈判订购飞机的航空公司之一，被广泛认为可能首批获得波音新型客机订单。
去年，甚至在波音公司还未准许其销售部门推销这款新飞机前，波音公司董事会已经批准与全日空公司开始初步的谈判。
据波音公司称，这一订单大约价值60亿美元。
波音公司相信这款被称做"梦幻班机"(Dreamliner)的双引擎喷气式飞机的销量将达到3,000架之多。这种飞机载客在217人至289人之间，目标市场包括目前由陈旧的波音767及空中客车A330飞行的航线上，这些飞机需要替换。
由于大多数美国航空公司都面临财务困境，波音已将首批新款飞机的销售重点放在了亚洲及欧洲。
据熟悉波音公司谈判的人士称，最近几个星期，新加坡航空公司(Singapore Airlines, S55.SG)及一些中国的航空公司，如上海航空公司(Shanghai Airlines, 600591.SH)也对此表示了兴趣。
