Duitse kanselier Schröder presenteert plan voor groei Europese economie (en)

Europe must focus on boosting sustainable growth if its social model is to survive, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has warned, as he today set out a seven-point plan for improving the EU's internal market.

Writing in German financial daily Handelsblatt and the Wall Street Journal Europe, Mr Schröder said that EU leaders must increase efforts to acheive the so-called Lisbon aims - the goal to make Europe the most competitive economy in the world by 2010.

The Lisbon strategy - due to be discussed by leaders at an EU summit next week - was recently dubbed a "big failure" by outgoing Commission President Romano Prodi.

EU leaders will receive a damning report on the Lisbon aims by former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, saying that "much needs to be done in order to prevent Lisbon from becoming a synonym for missed objectives and failed promises".

Seven ways to grow

In a bid to reverse this trend, the German Chancellor's plan - entitled "seven chances for the single European market" - calls for complete liberalisation of Europe's energy markets by 2007, increased co-operation in defence industries and common standards for credit card operations and bank transfers.

Mr Schröder also calls for a harmonisation in the way corporate tax is calculated, which may raise eyebrows in London, as the UK sees this as the "first step" towards tax harmonisation, to which they are implacably opposed.