VIENNA, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Finance ministers from the European Union (EU) on Saturday struggled to put recent spats over protectionism behind them and show a strong commitment to strengthening competition in the face of globalization challenges.

Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser (R) attends the press conference after the meeting of EU finance ministers in Vienna, capital of Austria, April 8, 2006. The 2-day meeting of EU finance ministers concluded Saturday. (Xinhua Photo)

    "Today I think we have had a clear statement from this meeting that globalization is a good thing, creates jobs and safeguards jobs," said Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser, who hosted the talks in Vienna.

    "The meeting was a clear reinforcement that globalization is benefiting us all, that it helps us being able to buy the best products at affordable prices," Grasser told a press conference atthe end of the two-day meeting.

    Grasser said that EU finance ministers made a clear commitment for more liberalization, for deregulation, for privatization, for the completion of the internal market.

    "The completion of the internal market must be a priority in all sectors with a clear timetable. Our markets are still too fragmented," he added.

    British finance minister Gordon Brown, a staunch defender of open markets, presented a paper to his colleagues warning that it was only with a strong European market that the EU would be able to rise to the challenges raised by competition from Asia.

    "With multinational trade and investment now the key to future prosperity, we need to be vigilant and avoid protectionism gainingground within the EU," the paper said.

    "Europe's policy priorities should be focused on equipping Europe with the capacity to adapt, respond and benefit from the challenges of globalization," it added. Enditem