Brussels, 01/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament is to examine (codecision procedure, first reading), on Tuesday, the report by Spanish MEP Miquel Mayol i Raynal (Greens/EFA) on the proposal of regulation relating to the labour cost index. The report, which approves the European Commission's position, stresses that analysis of labour costs is an important element in the conception of economic, monetary and employment policies. No-one could doubt that the Commission's proposal is well founded, says the rapporteur, who does not, however, share the point of view whereby labour costs are one of the main sources of inflation. In most cases, salary increases are only the consequence of a rise in the cost of living, says Miquel Mayol i Raynal. He believes it will be necessary to examine the possibility of later defining the labour cost index and to postpone presentation of the assessment report until 31 December 2003 in order to allow a better analysis to be made.