17/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - The absence of an agreement on the reduced rate system for VAT would be a "disaster for the economic growth of the high labour intensity sectors such as the construction sector", SME representative UEAPME states. In a press release, the UEAPME regrets that no progress was made during the informal Ecofin Council in Stresa (see EUROPE of 16 September, p.7). The association affirms that the reduced rates of VAT "significantly contribute to job creation". It uses the...