The finance ministers from the European Union (EU) adopted on Tuesday a 3-year blueprint for 2005 to 2008 designed to spur growth and jobs in Europe.

The Integrated Guidelines Package, proposed by the EU executive European Commission, aims to redress Europe's weak growth performance and insufficient job creation.

The new guidelines bring a simpler, more focused and coherent EU economic governance by reducing the number of guidelines and by concentrating on core measures to create growth and jobs.

"I am very pleased that member states have given the Commission full support for the priority actions and the new economic governance structure necessary to generate more growth and jobs in the EU," said EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

"We are now looking forward to seeing these good words translated into concrete actions and reforms at EU and national level," he added.

On the basis of the guidelines, EU member states are due to draw up 3-year national reform programs by Oct. 15, 2005.

EU nations will report each autumn on the reform programs in a single national Lisbon report and the Commission will analyze these reports in an EU Annual Progress Report in January each year.

The EU ministers also request European Commission present before August its own "Community Lisbon Program" covering all the actions at EU level that complement the national programs.

Source: Xinhua