Spain PM Proposes Binding Economic Objectives for EU States

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said "corrective measures" were needed under the 2020 Strategy if the EU wanted to compete and become more prosperous. Photo by BGNES

Spain prime minister has proposed setting binding economic objectives for the EU's member states under a 10-year plan to boost growth and competiveness.

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said "corrective measures" were needed under the 2020 Strategy if the EU wanted to compete and become more prosperous.

He was speaking ahead of the formal inauguration of Spain's EU presidency on Friday.

"We need to have a vision, in which the European interest is the vision of every member-state," Zapatero told journalists in Madrid.

"If Europe wants to keep its strength then it must unite in a globalised world. We need to change the direction the debate is taking."

The EU's so-called 2020 Strategy is to be thrashed out in a series of meetings over the next six months, the BBC reported.

It is designed to take forward the Lisbon Strategy, a 10-year economic plan made in 2000 by the EU in an attempt to increase the bloc's competitiveness, stimulate job growth and boost investment in research and development.

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