Brussels Says Chances of Catching Up Us Are Fading

EU member states must press ahead faster with economic reforms if they are to meet the union's ambitious goal of outstripping US performance, the European commission said yesterday.

Bemoaning the "current sluggish pace" of change, Brussels said there was little sign of narrowing the transatlantic gap in productivity, per capita wealth or innovation.

Romano Prodi, president of the commission, told the European parliament that progress was patchy, against a background of deteriorating economic conditions and the impending EU enlargement.

Only six of 16 initiatives launched a year ago have completed the stage aimed for by the end of 2002, the commission said. In areas such as pension reform and the creation of a cheap, EU-wide patent, held up by a dispute over languages, there has been little or no movement.

"Political uncertainty and the protracted downturn over the last 18 months has [sic] knocked business and consumer confidence," the EC said. "The vulnerability of our economy to external conditions reinforces the case for accelerating the pace of change."

The EU's Lisbon summit in 2000 set the goal, embraced by Tony Blair, of making Europe the "most dynamic knowledge-based economy" in the world by 2010.

"This report is a wake-up call and if it sends a shock wave through the system in several national capitals it will have done its job," said Gary Titley, leader of the British Labour group in the European parliament. "Too often Europe is strong on grandiose schemes and weak on delivery. That must change."

The report said the next 12 months would be crucial but it was already clear the EU would miss its intermediate target of raising the employment rate to 67% by 2005 unless it acted more quickly.

Frits Bolkestein, commissioner for the internal market, blamed "nearly all of the most serious delays" on conflicts between the European parliament and national governments.

More at guardian.co.uk/eu