O americano Jeremy Rifkin, um profundo conhecedor da UE (foi conselheiro de Prodi na Comissão Europeia), na sua obra "The European Dream" exprime-se sobre as diferença de filosofia entre a UE e os EUA sobre a introdução de novas tecnologias e de produtos no mercado e na sociedade:
"The European Union is forging ahead on a wide regulatory front, changing the very conditions and terms governing how new scientific and technological pursuits and products are introduced into the marketplace, society, and the environment. Its bold iniciatives put the European Union far ahead of the United States, and the rest of the world in procedures and protocols overseeing scientific and technological endeavors. Behind all of its newfound regulatory zeal is the looming question of how best to model global risks and create a sustainable and transparent approach to economic development."
"Europe's new sensitivity to global risks has led it to champion the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the Biodiversity Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and many other treaties and accords designed to reduce global, environmental, and health risks. The US government has refused, to date, to ratify any of the above agreements"
"In November 2002, the European Commission adopted a communication on the use of the precautionary principle in the regulatory oversight of science and technology innovations and the introduction of new products into the marketplace, society, and environment. (...) The first use of the precautionary principle in public policy came in the 1970s in Germany. (...) The precautionary principle «was to be used in situations of potentially serious or irreversible threats to health or the environment, where there is a need to act to reduce potential hazards before there is strong proof of harm, taking into account the likely costs and benefits os action and inaction»"
"The European Dream: How Europe’s Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream", Jeremy Rifkin, ed. Polity, 2004, pag. 322-329
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