German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and four other Christian Democrat EU leaders agreed yesterday to push for an EU employment target, styled on Maastricht Treaty economic convergence criteria. The idea - to be put forward at a Luxembourg European Union jobs summit on November 21st - was agreed at a meeting between Mr Kohl, Belgian Prime Minister Mr Jean-Luc Dehaene, Italian Prime Minister Mr Romano Prodi, Luxembourg Premier Mr Jean-Claude Juncker and Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Mr Rodrigo Rato.

The five leaders were in Toulouse, southwestern France, for a congress of the European People's Party, a gathering of Christian Democrat parties within the 15nation bloc.

None of the leaders spoke of their proposal during speeches to the congress late yesterday, but all made emotional appeals for a more active and concrete campaign to reduce the EU's jobless queues, currently at about 18 million people.