Germany drawing up 6-point plan for EU growth

Germany is developing a six-point plan for boosting growth in Europe, a German news weekly reported Friday, amid a heated debate among EU leaders on how to best help indebted eurozone states. The plan, being worked on by the German government, includes setting up special economic zones in crisis-hit countries which could woo investors with lower taxes and less regulation, Der Spiegel said, without revealing its sources. It also includes the creation of special bodies to privatise state-owned enterprises, along the same lines as when the assets of the former communist East Germany were sold off following German unification, the magazine said in a copy of its Monday edition. In addition, the proposals included labour market reforms, such as making it easier to hire and fire employees and bringing down wage costs. The plan further entailed proposals to boost on-the-job training for young people, similarly based on the long-established German model, the magazine said.