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Hollande: EU deficit extension to go towards competitiveness boost
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 15 - 05 - 2013


French President Francois Hollande promised
Wednesday that his government would press ahead with reforms to
improve competitiveness if granted a two-year extension to meet
European Union deficit targets, dpa reported.
The European Commission, the EU's executive, has recommended that
France - along with Spain - be given until 2015 to bring its deficit
below 3 per cent of gross domestic product. The extension must still
be approved by member states.
Hollande interpreted the move as a concession to French demands
that promoting growth must be given greater priority than curbing
deficits in tackling the economic crisis and praised the commission's
"pragmatism."
"The time granted must be used for reforms to competitivity, and
therefore for growth," Hollande said after talks in Brussels with
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The Socialist president cited plans to reform vocational training
requirements, unemployment benefits and retirement policy, insisting
this work was necessary "not because Europe demands it," but because
it was in France's interest.
Barroso had called upon France to present a "credible reform
programme," in a French media interview ahead of Hollande's visit.
"The French economy needs to halt its loss of competitiveness to
create growth and jobs," Barroso later said at a joint press
conference with Hollande.
"This has not happened for the last 20 years. And so there is a
problem that needs to be addressed courageously."
Hollande agreed that the problem was a "competitiveness
gap" between France and its European partners, adding that this was
far more serious than the deficit problem.
"Our only ambition must be growth," Hollande said. "This growth
will not come from abandoning rules or discipline. It is not more
deficits that produce more growth."
"But it is true that rapidly reducing deficits very quickly
produces less growth," Hollande added.


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