法德聯手改革應對歐元區經濟頹勢

PARIS — The economy ministers of France and Germany called on Thursday for urgent overhauls and a series of investments in both countries to help prevent them and the eurozone from falling into a stagnation trap.

巴黎——週四，法國和德國的經濟部長呼籲在兩國實施迫在眉睫的改革及一系列投資，從而防止這兩個國家乃至整個歐元區陷入停滯的陷阱。

Flanked by the German and French flags during a news briefing at the French Finance Ministry, Emmanuel Macron, the French economy minister, and his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel, called for a “New Deal” as they released a report that warned of a “lost decade” of growth if France and Germany stood by and did nothing.

在法國財政部舉行的新聞發佈會上，法國經濟部長埃馬紐埃爾·馬克龍(Emmanuel Macron)和德國經濟部長西格瑪爾·加布里爾(Sigmar Gabriel)坐在兩國的國旗之間，呼籲達成一項“新的協議”，併發布了一份報告。報告中警告說，如果法國和德國不採取任何行動，增長方面就可能遭遇“失去的十年”。

“Europe is losing relevance internally and externally,” said the report, written by Jean Pisani-Ferry, a French economist, and Henrik Enderlein, a German economist. The countries could not resign themselves, it said, “to this state of affairs.”

“歐洲對內、對外都在失去影響力，”報告稱。該報告由法國經濟學家讓·皮薩尼-費裏(Jean Pisani-Ferry)和亨裏克·恩德萊因(Henrik Enderlein)撰寫。報告稱，“面對這種狀況”，兩個國家不能聽之任之。

France is grappling with low growth, high unemployment and waning competitiveness. Germany, which has performed strongly for the last decade, risks slowing if it does not step up investments in infrastructure, the report said.

法國正在努力應對增長緩慢、高失業率和競爭力不斷下降的狀況。德國經濟過去10年一直表現強勁，但報告稱，如果德國不加大基礎設施的投資，就會面臨經濟放緩的風險。

The report called for a split policy mix that would rely on investment in Germany to stimulate demand, while other countries including France would pursue changes meant to bring long-term improvements to their economies, the way Germany did a decade ago when it overhauled its labor laws.

報告呼籲拿出一套分頭執行的政策組合，依靠德國的投資來刺激需求，與此同時，包括法國在內的其他國家將尋求爲本國經濟帶來長期改善的改革，就像10年前德國改革勞動法那樣。

No figure was given on how big the investment in Germany should be, but any proposal would most likely be separate from the Europe-wide initiative announced this week by Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, to spend about 300 billion euros, or $374 billion, in areas like public services, schools and renewable energy.

報告未透露關於德國的投資規模有多大的數據，但任何提議都極有可能是與歐盟委員會(European Commission)主席讓-克洛德·容克(Jean-Claude Juncker)本週宣佈的倡議分開的。容克的倡議涉及整個歐洲，內容是在公共服務、學校和可再生能源等領域投資約3000億歐元，即3740億美元（約合2.3萬億元人民幣）。

In France, the report urged moving closer to the German labor practice known as “flexicurity,” in which employers and labor unions negotiate within companies to increase or reduce working hours or the labor force. It added a suggestion that is likely to be contentious: to let companies preventively adjust their work forces in response to challenging market conditions rather than an outright business downturn.

報告敦促法國進一步向德國的一項名爲“靈活保障”的勞工措施考慮，根據該措施，僱主和工會在公司內部就工作時間和勞動力的增減進行談判。報告還增加了一項可能會引起爭議的建議：在面對艱難的市場行情時，允許企業進行預防性的勞動力調整，防止業績全面滑坡。

Other recommendations included altering France’s framework of labor laws and creating a leaner, more effective state. Germany was urged to respond to demographic challenges by preparing for a greater influx of immigrants and women in the work force.

其他建議包括調整法國的勞動法框架，創造一種更簡潔、更有效的狀態。報告敦促德國應對人口結構方面的挑戰，可採取的辦法是爲更多移民和女性進入勞動力大軍做好準備。