Barroso urges Germany to act on euro imbalances

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso urged Germany on the 5 November 2013 to do more to address economic imbalances in the eurozone by opening up its services market and allowing wages to rise at a faster pace.

Barroso's language was softer than that of the United States, which had reprimanded Germany the week before for relying too heavily on exports, an approach it said hampered economic stability in Europe and hurt the global economy.

Germany's trade surplus was at the heart of the European Commission's economic policy recommendations for the EU / eurozone on the 13 November 2013. The European Commission said it would investigate whether Germany's trade surplus hampered economic growth across the rest of the eurozone.

ESO: Background information: US warns German economic policies 'damaging to eurozone' http://www.europeansources.info/record/us-warns-german-economic-policies-damaging-to-eurozone/

ESO: Background information: The German Model and the European Crisis http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-german-model-and-the-european-crisis/

ESO: Background information: Merkel's Europe: How her men run Brussels http://www.europeansources.info/record/merkels-europe-how-her-men-run-brussels/

ESO: Background information: French minister slams German 'wage-dumping' http://www.europeansources.info/record/french-minister-slams-german-wage-dumping/

European Commission: RAPID: Speech, SPEECH/13/878: Erste Frankfurter Europa-Rede http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-878_en.pdf

Die Welt, 06.11.13: German exports under fire (via PressEurop) http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/4300001-german-exports-under-fire

Reuters, 05.11.13: EU's Barroso urges Germany to act on euro imbalances http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/05/uk-germany-imbalances-barroso-idUKBRE9A40ZS20131105

Deutsche Welle, 08.11.13: German exports soar to hit new trade surplus record http://dw.de/p/1ADzG

EurActiv, 12.11.13: Brussels to up pressure on Berlin for weak domestic demand http://www.euractiv.com/euro-finance/brussels-pressure-berlin-weak-do-news-531607

EUObserver, 12.11.13: EU commission ups pressure on Germany, France http://euobserver.com/economic/122067

EUObserver, 13.11.13: Germany to face EU trade surplus probe http://euobserver.com/news/122093

EUObserver, 15.11.13: When Barroso dared to take on Berlin http://euobserver.com/news/122074

ESO: Background information: European Semester 2014: strengthening the recovery http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-european-semester-2014-strengthening-the-recovery/

EurActiv, 14.11.13: Germany under EU scrutiny for current account surplus http://www.euractiv.com/euro-finance/germany-commision-scrutiny-curre-news-531668

Blog: Open Europe, 13.11.13: Reviewing Germany's surplus http://openeuropeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/reviewing-germanys-surplus.html

Spiegel Online International, 13.11.13: Surplus Debate: Berlin's Export Whining Shows Double Standard http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/berlin-moaning-at-export-surplus-criticism-shows-double-standards-a-933439.html

EUObserver, 16.03.10: Paris clashes with Berlin over impact of German exports http://euobserver.com/economic/29691

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