Appparently, the European Union wants the rest of the world to adopt their rules:

Brussels wants the rest of the world to adopt the European Unionâ€™s regulations, the European Commission will say this week. A Commission policy paper that examines the future of the Unionâ€™s single market says European single market rules have inspired global standard-setting in areas such as product safety, the environment, securities and corporate governance. â€œIncreasingly the world is looking to Europe and adopts the standards that are set here,â€ the paper, seen by the Financial Times, says. The paper calls on the EU to encourage other jurisdictions to follow suit â€“ for example by â€œpromoting European standards internationally through international organisation and bilateral agreementsâ€.

This would not be good news for people who believe in free markets, because the E.U. is hardly what one could call a free market economy:

The two sides have very different regulatory philosophies, with the EU placing a heavy emphasis on consumer protection and environmental legislation while the US tends to promote a more market-based approach. Some critics of the European approach argue that the Unionâ€™s stance on issues such as GM foods may also reflect a desire to protect the regionâ€™s commercial interests.

In other words, the same “democratic” socialism that has been a hallmark of European economies for decades. Asking the rest of the world to adopt these policies is essentially asking them to join France and Germany in the land of permanent double-digit unemployment.

H/T: Cato@Liberty