What is outstanding about the EU is that it restricts the economic growth of it's member states. I've seen it argued that this is not merely the fault of poor governance., like the rest of the world, rather it's an inherent feature of the way the European Community was set up. Their lack of concern for Free Market principles is not just due to a contempt for small business but rather an inability to accommodate them. (the sole exception may be subsidising the French farming industry).