Brussels, 16/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 15 February, Jean-Claude Junker explained that growth was getting stronger but remained “fragile and moderate”, as confirmed by the most recent Eurostat figures. According to the president of the Eurogroup, these are rather uninspiring results. He stated that GDP growth in the eurozone during the fourth quarter of 2009 was barely positive (+0.1%), which meant that the eurozone had to focus more on competitiveness disparities within the different economies making up the zone. At the end of the EU16 meeting, Junker declared: “It was possible to control these disparities in previous years but they have become a little more entrenched over the crisis period. Nonetheless, we believe that we have to look at the situation more attentively”.
This view is shared by the new commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Olli Rehn, who will present the Commission's provisional forecasts on 25 February. He is also preparing the important task of proposals aimed at strengthening the monitoring of macro-economic imbalances within the eurozone. He confirmed that they needed increased and broader supervision in order to detect imbalances between member states earlier. Rehn confirmed that the Commission would “soon” present proposals for strengthening eurozone economic coordination. The commissioner explained that the Commission was preparing its proposal largely on the basis of Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which “includes a certain number of instruments for increased and broader supervision of eurozone economic policies”. Rehn said that he did not just want to put emphasis on budgetary policies but also on the structural stakes at play and the macro-economic imbalances (competitiveness disparities). The proposal may still be presented this winter or in spring. (A.B./transl.fl)