COTIS UNBOUND

As head of the ministry's economics department in the Lionel Jospin government and as chairman of the EU's Economic Policy Committee, he established a reputation for being not only an able economist but also a tactful diplomat.

But now that Cotis, 44, has moved from Bercy across town to Paris's swank 16th arrondissement to become chief economist of the OECD, he can speak his mind much more plainly -- and he clearly relishes doing so. Unveiling his first annual economic outlook in November, the once-circumspect bureaucrat bluntly criticized EU countries for their economic policies. Germany, he chided, needs to restructure its labor market, and France must reduce its cyclically adjusted annual deficit (which Finance Minister Francis Mer has refused to do).

The political cast to Cotis's presentation contrasted with the detached, academic tone taken by his predecessor, Italian Ignazio Visco. That only served to underscore the political nature of many of the challenges facing European economic policymakers -- for one, the EU stability pact.

Cotis accepts that the controversial economic agreement should be modified to take into account European countries' debt levels and deficits. Nevertheless, he contends that EU governments still need to obey the pact's deficit dictates.

"Whatever rule is used, if there is no political commitment to enforce it, it will not work," Cotis says. "We need that political commitment."