Commission rallies EU governments to collective economic cause

A plan to relaunch the European Union's drive for global economic supremacy has been unveiled at the European Parliament. The president of the Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, presented a new plan aimed at stimulating reform-shy governments. He said they had to take more responsibility for modernisation. "The Commission cannot and should not do this on its own. Member states are central to success. The necessary reforms imply difficult choices but they cannot be imposed from above. Our goal is to put in place a new governance structure, to support and facilitate tough choices and courageous change. " EU leaders vowed in Lisbon in 2000 to make the EU's economy the world's most competitive. To achieve this, the Commission says new political focus and fewer objectives are needed: job creation, technological innovation and creating an environment to attract investors. A 2010 deadline was dropped.