[aapl88888]

So the entire EU economy grew at the same speed than the US one but not its 500 bigger companies.

This is misleading. The article says the poorer (former communist) eastern European countries got richer, which brought up the average.

[j_wtf_all_taken]

Ok. So lets look at the US on a state level - some got terribly rich, some suffer terribly?

[aapl88888]

Which US part suffered terribly?

[mpweiher]

How is this "misleading"?

We want the poorer countries to get richer faster in order to close the gap. Accomplishing precisely this is a large part of EU policy. And it is working.

[aapl88888]

If the US had its eastern part communist, it too would have a higher average GDP from decades ago. It is basic economics.