European Commission president Barroso said France needed to present a credible programme of structural reforms, as new data showed Europe's second-largest economy slipping into a shallow recession.
Mr Barroso... said France must pursue reforms if the EU was to grant it two more years to bring its budget deficit down to 3 per cent of economic output as promised. The extension would be approved “if France presents a credible reform programme so that France can regain its competitiveness”, Barroso told Europe 1 radio.
Yesterday, the French parliament passed a landmark reform of the country’s labour code, part of Mr Hollande’s efforts to convince European partners that he is committed to revamping the economy. But as preliminary data today showed the French economy contracting by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, Barroso said that France needed to prove its commitment to pursue further structural reforms. “The truth is that France has lost competitiveness over the past 20 years”, he added.
Full article
© irishtimes.com
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article