of all the talk, the lisbon strategy failed to deliver the reforms we need. the statistics are staggering. as measured by the world economic forum, more than half the e.u. states are less competitive than they were at this time less year while five e.u. states are less competitive than a country that's iran. five times as much is invested in the u.s.. our single market, one of our greatest strengths, remains incomplete, and there's still a colossal 4,000 professionals across the european union in which access is regulated by government. that is not all. in spite of the economic challenge, in spite of the unemployment challenge, we are still doing things through the e.u. to make life even harder. in the name of social protection, the e.u. promoted unnecessary measures posing burdens on businesses and governments and can destroy jobs. the agency worker's director, the pregnant worker's director, the working time director, and, nsk, there's the proposal for a financial transaction tax. now, of course, it is right that the financial sector should pay their share