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(AFX UK Focus) 2008-03-06 13:46 EU business group calls on member states to commit to wage moderation

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BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - European employers association BusinessEurope has called on EU member states to make a "credible commitment" towards fiscal sustainability and moderate wage settlements during next week's EU summit, arguing excessive wage growth would threaten economic growth. "Europe still has a good chance to keep growing at around 2 pct this year, but this will largely rest on an appropriate and proportionate policy response," BusinessEurope said in a statement. Given the "unprecedented level of uncertainty" the world economy is currently facing, it added member states need to reaffirm their pledge to balance their budgets by 2010. France has said it may not respect the agreement made by all euro zone countries in April last year in Berlin, warning it will not meet the target before 2012 if economic growth weakens. The EU summit will also address financial market instability amid calls for increased transparency and more cooperation among regulators in the wake of the US subprime mortgage market crisis. BusinessEurope said it supports the need for more transparency and better coordination of market supervision, but called for a balanced approach that does not undermine financial market innovation. In addition, the group asks for the proposals for a revision of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to be clarified, stressing the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries must be safeguarded. In January, the commission outlined its plans for Phase Three of the ETS 2013-2020, under which the power sector will have to pay fully for carbon credits but other industrial sectors new to the scheme will not. The move is part of a plan to reduce EU emissions covered by the ETS by 21 pct from 2005 levels in 2020. antonia.vandevelde@thomson.com ava/ms1 COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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