EU slams France on 'limited' economic reforms
Valdis Dombrovskis - Photo © European Union - source EP
(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission criticised France on Friday for pushing through only limited reforms that it said fall short of addressing the country's faltering economy and high unemployment levels.
The warning to heavily-indebted France was part of the EU Commission's country-by-country breakdown of the state of the economy in the 19 very different countries which make up the single currency bloc.
The authority to criticise national policies is part of new powers given the EU's executive arm in an effort to better manage the eurozone economy after the debt crisis.
"The unemployment rate, at 10.5 percent in 2015, is not expected to decline in the short term," the Commission, the executive arm for the EU's 28 member states, said in its report on France.
"The measures to reduce the costs of labour are likely to have only a limited impact on employment up to 2017," it added.
The hard words come days after France's Socialist government unveiled labour market reform plans that provoked a rebellion within its own ranks.
The Commission's reports come without an official recommendation and are meant to be the basis for dialogue between the Commission and national governments over what they should do to bolster growth and meet EU debt and deficit limits.
While "France has taken steps to reform its economy... challenges remain related to the competitiveness of the economy," Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said.
"It is urgent to address these challenges in a timely and determined way," he added.
The Commission also criticised Germany, the eurozone's biggest economy, which it has usually applauded for soundly handling its public finances.
The Commission again urged Berlin to increase public investment in a way to help boost the European economy as a whole.