EU report card finds room for improvement
BRUSSELS Presenting an update on efforts by European governments to modernize their economies, the European Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, found as much to criticize as to praise. Nordic countries scored high marks for their investment in research, but Barroso criticized Germany for insufficient child care, Britain for poor public transportation and Italy for keeping its services sector closed to competition. In addition to his critiques Wednesday, Barroso added policy suggestions of his own. One was to require children in secondary schools to learn two foreign languages. Despite widespread skepticism about his ability to spur growth from Brussels, Barroso said he was winning the argument for change. "Today in Europe there is a consensus that the status quo is not an option," he said.
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