European Union governments must work harder to embrace economic reforms in order to boost growth and step up job creation, the European Commission said Thursday. Unveiling its broad economic policy guidelines for the bloc's 25 governments, the Commission said more efforts were needed to boost E.U. competitiveness through sounder public finances, labor reforms, more productive investments and more integrated markets. The report comes a day after Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said his five-year agenda would focus on generating prosperity and helping European businesses compete against emerging giants including China. The Commission warned that despite changes being made to labor markets in several E.U. states, overall employment rates in the bloc had stagnated and productivity growth had fallen. "Member states need to embrace the path of economic reform more convincingly if they want to achieve the ambitious objectives they have set themselves in terms of increased competitiveness and job creation," said E.U. monetary and economics Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
