Brown: Stress on creating jobs

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"No change on EMU"

Brown Presents EU Jobs Initiative

Mr Brown said he had written to every finance minister in the EU seeking their support for the plan, which he will be putting on the agenda at their next meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.

The plan involves cutting unemployment by creating greater employment opportunities and more labour market flexibility in Europe. There would also be a task force to help small and medium-sized businesses.

Mr Brown's plan would also look at ways to complete the European single market.

"No longer should the British government sit on the sidelines in Europe when there are major economic issues at stake," said Mr Brown at a news briefing in the Treasury in London.

He said the Government would also use the UK's presidency of the EU next year to push forward this jobs agenda.

Mr Brown said US President Bill Clinton had already agreed to put a jobs creation plan at the heart of the G7 Summit of leading industrial nations later this month.

"We intend to make this a key theme of our presidency of the G8 (Group of Eight) and of the European Union," Brown said.

Britain will hold the presidency of the EU in the first half of 1998 and will host the annual summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial countries, which also be attended by Russia, next year.

Brown said he would be looking for concrete results by the end of Britain's EU presidency in a year's time.

The Chancellor's proposals were dismissed by the Tory former Education and Employment Secretary, Gillian Shephard.

"If Gordon Brown wants to show Europe how to create jobs, then he should start today by scrapping his plans for a national minimum wage and by withdrawing his support for the job-destroying European Social Chapter," she said.

"It is the height of hypocrisy to preach labour market flexibility in Europe while planning costly new regulations here in Britain," she added.