ECONOMIC POLICY : BUSINESSEUROPE PRESENTS ITS PRIORITIES TO SPANISH PRESIDENCY.

Following a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero in Madrid, the European employers' organisation BusinessEurope sent him a letter, dated 2 February, underlining the main objectives which it believes the EU should focus on during the six-month Spanish Presidency.

In this letter, BusinessEurope President Jurgen R. Thumann calls for the well functioning of financial markets, which must ensure an adequate access to credit for companies and an investment-friendly environment. Employment also remains a priority: Europe's future jobs will depend on the EU's innovation capacity, and it is important to keep labour costs under control, improve labour market flexibility and increase mobility in the short run, he points out.

"An ambitious EU growth strategy with a clear target to double the EU's growth potential over the next five years must be agreed. EU institutions and member states are collectively responsible for its success," notes Thumann, who would like the EU budget to become a more effective instrument of this strategy.

CLIMATE CHANGE

BusinessEurope says it is disappointed by the outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit and recalls that companies support action to combat climate change. However, the organisation recommends that the EU does not further raise its targets to reduce emissions beyond 20%, unless all developed countries make equivalent efforts and advanced...