Brussels, 12/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 12 January, a spokesperson for EU Commissioner for the Euro Olli Rehn said that the European Commission did not have an agenda dictated from outside and its decisions were taken on the basis of strict economic criteria, being neither ultraliberal, ultraecologist or ultrasocial. The spokesperson pointed out that the stability and growth pact rules had been changed democratically by the EU and greater budget discipline is needed to deal with the crisis, along with a growth stimulation policy. The official was responding to criticism from the Belgian public enterprise minister Paul Magnette earlier that day on Radio RTBF, who said that the Commission has to open its eyes, remove its ultraliberal blinkers and take a pragmatic view of the European economy if Europe is to avoid 15 years of recession. Under pressure from the Commission, Belgium has introduced austerity measures such as freezing more than a billion euro of planned public spending in order to meet its pledge to reduce its deficit to below 3% of GDP (see EUROPE 10529). (MB/transl.fl)