EUROPEAN industry leaders are furious that publication of a comprehensive report on EU competitiveness is being blocked because of an ideological rift inside the European Commission over the need for greater labour market flexibility.
Unice, the European employers organisation, believes publication of the complete report, which chronicles the link between high unemployment and labour market rigidities, is a central test of Brussels' willingness to endorse labour market flexibility and deregulation.
Officials from the Commission's social affairs directorate want to exclude certain aspects of the report, in particular two graphs that demonstrate the correlation between high unemployment and high redundancy costs and between high unemployment and complex labour market laws.
"Europe suffers from low rates of net job creation and low rates of employment," said Mr Francois Perigot, president of Unice.
"It is high time to look more deeply into this phenomenon."
Mr Perigot's demand comes against a background of renewed tensions in countries where governments are carrying out politically-sensitive restructurings of their economies.
The Commission report on competitiveness was prepared by the industry directorate of the EU and looks in detail at the performance of the European economy and European industry.
