Brussels, 02/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, opened, on Wednesday afternoon, the second forum Brussels Economic Forum, a high level public debate dedicated to the EU's economic policy, organised each year by the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the Commission. This demonstration notably gathers together eminent academics, economists from the private sector, social partners and representatives from the specialised media. This session of the forum, which will end on 3 May, will broach the prospects for economic policy in the Union and the issue of the coordination of this policy. For the first time, part of the works will be dedicated to the new economy and the challenges that it presents to the creators of European economic policy. Pedro Solbes. Commissioner responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs spoke of his aim to use this forum to have an honesty and open debate over these issue and to give a new impetus to their detailed examination by the public. In his opening speech, Mr Prodi notably indicated that he targeted, around 2008, for the fiftieth anniversary of the Community, growth of 3.5% in the present Member States and growth of 7% in the candidate countries, or an annual rate of growth of around 4% in an enlarged Union, which, he added, would call for an increase in the rate of productivity throughout Europe. According to him, four factors should lead to this: the Euro, the enlargement of the single market, the development of new information and communication technologies and the combination of elements such as the reform of the labour market, the increasing of investments in education and training and the modernisation of the system of social protection.