The chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday the euro zone must "jointly reform" and added that high taxes on labour are an obstacle to growth. Speaking in Berlin, Dijsselbloem said that national tax cuts should be co-ordinated across Europe. "The tax wedge on labour in the euro zone is high, probably too high," he said. "In almost all euro zone countries we have a tax wedge that is higher than the OECD average."
Dijsselbloem said that following the European Parliamentary elections he is more convinced that the European Union must focus on job creation. "Europe is no longer taken for granted," he said. "It is no longer undisputed q the elections have only strengthened my belief that we have to focus on creating jobs." He also said the EU's efforts must be aimed at creating the right conditions for sustainable growth.
"The key issue at the moment is simply the return of jobs. The real thing in life that people still feel, such as in Portugal, is massive unemployment. So people ask, will this be jobless growth?" Dijsselbloem said he was concerned about a lack of movement for reforms after the parliamentary elections.