“It’s not high wages or strong worker protection that are chasing industry out of Europe but a too expensive euro. If European flagships such as Airbus are outsourcing activity to the dollar zone, then something is very wrong with monetary policy-making,” says John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

The hike in interest rate results in a euro exchange rate getting more and too expensive. As a consequence, considerable efforts delivered by European workers to moderate wages and improve competitiveness are simply being erased.

The ETUC urges the ECB to stop its cycle of monetary tightening and not to continue with its policy of raising interest rates in 2007.