January 13, 2008	Sunday	Muharram 03, 1429

VALLETTA, Malta, Jan 12: The European Commission may cut its growth forecast for the eurozone economy this year, Luxembourg's prime minister said on Saturday, as other EU leaders voiced concern about the euro’s strength.

Speaking on the sidelines of ceremonies to mark Malta's January 1 entry into the eurozone, French EU Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said the euro had rallied too fast. Jouyet came close to renewing French criticism of the European Central Bank's interest rate hikes last year by suggesting the Eurogroup of EU finance ministers should “see if the (ECB's) inflation target is appropriate in the eurozone.”

Jouyet's latest comments mark an adaptation of earlier calls from French President Nicholas Sarkozy to make growth part of the ECB’s mandate proposals that fell on deaf ears in Europe and met with a particularly strong rebuff from Germany.

Jouyet also said he would not comment on the policy of the ECB, which defends its independence from politicians fiercely.

Although a global credit crisis has persuaded the ECB to keep interest rates on hold at four per cent since last June, hawkish comments from ECB policymakers have spurred the euro’s long-running rally against the dollar, especially since the US Federal Reserve began to cut its benchmark rate in Sept.—Reuters