- the Member States should undertake, against the background of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPG), to secure their government spending to facilitate growth and investment in human and physical capital.

The Council will also hold a policy debate on the BEPG for the period 2003-2005 (see European Report 2766, Section II).

The Commission does not seek to put forward concrete proposals for future Guidelines, but rather suggests areas that should be opened up for debate:- The need to set clear objectives in response to the policy challenges;- The need to simplify the policy guidelines without undermining their effectiveness;- The need to improve governance and partnership in the implementation of the strategy; and- The need to ensure greater consistency with respect to other relevant EU processes, most notably the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPG).

The final BEPG commitments by France involve a speedy introduction of structural reforms to boost the prospect of economic growth and reduce the overall level of public spending.

Mr Rato denied the electoral situation in France is the reason for the delay in adopting the BEPG. No Member States have called the Stability Pact into question, he claims.

A Commission spokesman said it was unlikely a total ban would be possible and so it would be up to Ministers to come up with a compromise agreement.Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPG).Also at the Council, the Commission and Ministers will debate the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPGs) and will forward the result of the debate to the Ecofin Council, meeting the following day, on June 4.

As exchange rate adjustments are no longer possible in the EMU it is even more important than in the past for wage developments to be in line with the macro-economic framework set by the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPG).The assessment by the Commission services recognises that wage moderation has been a key feature of labour market developments, including during the period of robust economic growth that ended in mid-2001.

The Communication recalls that the BEPG for 2001 had already made provision for a slight downturn in growth.

It is expected that when the BEPG are discussed at the Summit, an EU head of state will raise the issue of the liberalisation of the electricity market in connection with the EdF-Montedison case (see separate article in Section III).

French Finance Minister, Laurent Fabius, described the economic slowdown in the Euro zone as now being a factor that is difficult to ignore.The EcoFin Council has given the green light to the Broad Economic Policies Guidelines (BEPG) of the Member States for this year.

It should outline concrete examples of the influence of reductions in taxation on the supply of jobs, and the impact of specific measures on low wages, etc.BEPG.Finance Ministers held a first inconclusive debate on the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPG).