Brussels, 09/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - After the European Central Bank (ECB) adopted a wait and see policy with its monetary decision on 8 November (see EUROPE 9539), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), in a report published the same day, called for an cut in interest rates in the euro area “right now”. ETUC, fearing the slowdown could be more pronounced than expected, bringing down euro area growth rates well below 2%, says that, if the ECB does not take steps ahead of such a development in the economy, it risks entrenching negative growth expectations and repeating the dismal growth performance of the first half of this decade; “If the ECB waits too long before taking action, it will find itself in the position of no longer being able to do so because rate cuts will make no noticeable difference to aggregate demand,” said ETUC Deputy General Secretary Rainer Hoffman. The report, in English only, is available at: http://www.etuc.org/a/4223 (A.B.)