EU policy to cause 15 years of recession: Belgian minister

(BRUSSELS) - The austerity measures imposed by the European Commission on EU states will drag Europe into 15 years of recession, a Belgian minister said in a newspaper interview published Thursday.

"The European Commission is wrong and the economic policy it is imposing on states is not the right one," Public Industry Minister Paul Magnette, a Socialist, told La Libre Belgique.

Magnette acknowledged that governments in the crisis-struck eurozone "must impose rigour" but the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank should help governments deal with their "historic debts."

The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, has called on governments to cut spending and slash their debts to restore confidence in the 17-nation eurozone.

The commission, which was given new powers in December to threaten governments with sanctions if they run excessive public deficits, forced Belgium to freeze an additional one billion euros in spending this week.

"The European Commission is preparing 15 years of recession for Europe. All the great economists are saying it," Magnette said.