Barroso sketches five-year programme[fr][de] 

Speaking at an economic congress in Barcelona last week, Barroso warned that signs of recovery, although encouraging, were still "fragile" and that stimulus measures would probably need to be maintained for some time.

"It is clearly too early to withdraw support for the economy and the financial sector," Barroso told the European Economic Association Congress on 25 August. 

With stimulus plans still in force across the European Union, he said bringing public deficits below the EU target of 3% of GDP "will take some time," and admitted that deadlines for returning deficits to normal "should not be the same for all member sates".

"The first priority is to get bank credit flowing again," the Commission president said, adding that "in order to lend, banks must be in a sound position". "The second priority is to make sure that those banks receiving assistance will be viable once public support is withdrawn."

Barroso is due to appear before the European Parliament's political leaders on 8-9 September to outline his five-year programme (EurActiv 26/08/09). He still needs a vote of approval from the EU assembly in order to be re-appointed for a second term.

Fighting unemployment "has become our number one priority," he said, explaining that social support measures in national stimulus plans were part of that effort.

But he also warned that stimulus measures "cannot go on indefinitely," saying "we must already prepare our exit strategy". At some point, he said, new sources of growth would have to take up the baton, outlining the following:

• Open markets: In many cases, it is non-tariff barriers which hamper EU exports, Barroso said. "So we will push for greater regulatory cooperation with our main trading partners." Within the EU, completing and exploiting the single market should be the priority.
• Networks: Building up high-speed broadband Internet, securing energy supplies and improving energy interconnections.
• Innovation: Setting out a new intellectual property strategy.
• Skills: "Some industries and sectors will decline. We will have to ensure a smooth restructuring process and help people to move into different sectors," Barroso said, adding that moves to create a green economy "will also create new, green jobs". So-called "white jobs" to care for older people and children will also provide further opportunities as Europe's population ages and more women enter the labour force, he said.
• Transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy: "This is a great opportunity, not a problem but a chance," Barroso stressed, saying it also means "making sure that our environmental policies take account of the situation of European industry and its capacity to adjust".
• Public expenditure quality check: With less resources coming from financial markets, governments may have to step up expenditure, the Commission president said. Yet, at the same time, they will be subject to severe financial constraints themselves, he warned. "Prioritisation will be paramount. So, I believe that there may be a case for extending the surveillance under the Stability and Growth Pact to include an assessment of both expenditure and taxation to see whether they are sufficiently growth friendly."

The crisis poses huge challenges, Barroso concluded, but also presents "significant opportunities". He conceded, though, that these "may take longer to harvest".