The Delors White Paper XXXXXXXXXXidentified as one of the ‘fundamental imbalances’ in the EU economy the fact that current levels of public expenditure, particularly in the social field, have become...

the EU economy the fact that current levels of public expenditure, particularly in the social field, have become unsustainable and have used up resources which could have been channelled into productive investment. They have pushed up the taxation of labour and increased the cost of

money ... . As a result, the level of long-term investment has fallen and the lack of confidence

among those involved in the economic process has caused demand to contract.

(p. 40) Is this assessment still valid?