Barroso backs Blair and Brown over EU economy

The European Commission president has promised to put economic growth at the heart of the EU's programme.

In comments that will delight the British government, which has long been pushing the "Lisbon agenda" for reform, Jose Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday that expanding the continent's economy will take precedence over social intervention in a bid to meet the challenge of competitors.

The right-wing former Portuguese prime minister told the FT that "there is a new sense of urgency" in Brussels over ensuring Europe keeps pace with the rest of the world.

"It's an important part of making Europe more attractive," he said.

"We need to make Europe a more attractive place to invest, live and work, we need to spend more on research for growth and we need more and better jobs," he added.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have pledged to put economic reform and competitiveness as the centre of Britain's presidency of the EU in the second half of this year amid fears that the programme agreed by EU leaders in Lisbon five years ago has fallen behind schedule.

The prime minister and chancellor will therefore be pleased that the Commission chief is fully on side.

However some parts of the Lisbon programme are to be redrafted or dropped, including the pledge to make Europe the world's most competitive economy by 2010, which is now widely seen as undeliverable.

"We should avoid slogans that put at risk the credibility of the whole exercise," Barroso said.

He also used the interview to criticise "naive federalists" who see the nation state as "evil" in a further move that will help Blair convince his electorate that there is no Brussels agenda for a "superstate" contained within the new EU constitution.