If the agenda and the ambition are undeniable, so are the potential benefits of such a deal. If we manage to come to a comprehensive agreement, the overall gains could add up to a 0.5% increase in GDP for both sides.
So all that excitement is over a once-off half of one percent increase in GDP. As EU Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso is the chief technocratic advocate of austerity policies that are costing countries several percentage points of GDP every year.
Photo: Use of Dr Evil via Wikipedia for commentary purposes.