Eurogroup says more investments, jobs needed for recovery

President of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem said here on Monday that to keep the recovery on track, more investments, jobs and raising productivity were needed.

He made the remarks at a press conference after a meeting of the Eurogoup, saying that the euro area cannot keep counting on low energy and oil prices, quantitative easing and a low exchange rates.

"That means keeping our focus on growth-enhancing structural reforms and sound fiscal policies, so that we capitalize on the current benign environment of lower interest rates and higher growth," he said.

He added that the positive news was that fiscal frameworks had been strengthened in almost all euro area member states and now the countries need to translate these frameworks into strong track records for fiscal outcomes.

The Spring Forecast from the European Commission shows clear improvements, he said, noting the recovery was strengthening, with growth picking up across the continent. The Eurogroup meeting also touched on the issues of Greece and Ireland, in which the Eurogroup said more time would be needed to bridge the remaining gaps and to reach a comprehensive agreement on the resolution of the Greek debt crisis.

"Ireland is experiencing a strong recovery which we forecast to continue this year and next," said Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs.

Moscovici said that the legacy of the crisis continues to be felt, not least in the high levels of public debt, and that's why "we strongly encourage the Irish authorities to proceed with the implementation of key structural reforms and to make the most of the benign economic climate to proceed with the fiscal consolidation that remains necessary to keep public debt on a steady downward path."

During the meeting, Moscovici also updated the Eurogroup on the situation concerning Cyprus.

He said the mission that concluded at the end of last week welcomed the strong progress made so far and the recent adoption of modern insolvency and foreclosure legislation, which is a critical step towards the reduction of the high level of non-performing loans and boosting jobs and growth prospects in Cyprus.

"Once all of the final elements of this reform are in place, it should be possible to move towards a swift conclusion on the ongoing sixth review of Cyprus' program," said Moscovici. Enditem