German Economists Join Country's Chorus of Critics José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, said Germany would be the subject of an "in-depth review for its high and persistent current account surplus." FRANKFURT - Germany, which has often scolded other countries for accumulating too much debt and allowing their competitiveness to sag, now finds its own economic policy under attack. The criticism is coming not just from beyond its borders, including a warning by European Union officials on Wednesday that Germany's huge trade surplus is threatening the competitiveness of the rest of the bloc, but also from the German Council of Economic Experts, a panel of leading economists that advises the government. The council said on Wednesday that Germany had failed to follow the advice it has given to other countries, putting its own future growth in danger as the population grows older and the percentage of retired people increases. Political leaders should invest more in education and continue to deregulate the labor market, the council said, by reducing restrictions on temporary labor, for example. "Forward-looking economic policy is necessary to strengthen Germany's economic growth and to ensure the viability of public finances and the social security systems," the council said in its annual report on the economy. The German government should not give the impression that it expects - or even demands - painful adjustment processes from other countries, but shies away from unpopular measures for Germany. The council warned that in the eight years that Angela Merkel has been chancellor, the German government has not built on the deregulation of the labor market begun by her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, at great cost to his political career. The changes helped cut German unemployment in half, but the council warned that, if anything, the current government seems to be backtracking on some of the changes. The council was particularly critical of plans to introduce a nationwide minimum wage, saying it would make it harder for people with few skills to find work. Ms. Merkel is likely to agree to a minimum wage to placate the Social Democrats, with whom her Christian Democratic Union is negotiating to form a government. "The present economic situation and Germany's healthy position compared to the euro area's crisis countries seem to have obstructed many politicians" view of the major future challenges," the council said. The council's report comes as the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is stepping up its criticism of Germany's huge trade surplus, which was 45.9 billion euros, or $61.7 billion, in the second quarter of this year. The European Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, said on Wednesday at a news conference in Brussels that Germany would be the subject of an "in-depth review for its high and persistent current account surplus." German officials had acknowledged on Tuesday that pressure from the European Commission could eventually include opening a review that, at least in theory, could lead to financial penalties. Mr. Barroso said the investigation was "not about questioning Germany's competitiveness" but because "others are far away from that level of competitiveness." Mr. Barroso asked whether Germany "could do more to help rebalancing" the European economy, including opening up its service sector. Mr. Barroso also scolded 15 other countries, including France, for high taxes and levels of public spending. Despite the scrutiny of Germany, officials in Brussels were wary of threatening any nascent economic recovery by being too harsh in their criticism of any of 28 European Union members. For its part, the German council of economists did not express undue concern on Wednesday about Germany's trade surplus. It predicted that the surplus would fall next year as German companies invested more at home and as continued low unemployment encouraged consumers to spend more. Jack Ewing reported from Frankfurt and James Kanter from Brussels.