Mr Barroso told French radio on Wednesday that France had "lost competitiveness in the last 20 years".
Barroso added that tariffs must be cut wherever it makes sense and is possible.
The Barroso manifesto will now be picked apart and members may vote on him in September.
As it happens, Mr Barroso has qualifications that could help him in these tasks.
Such figures are "unacceptable and a terrible indictment of our performance, " Barroso told the council.
"The message is that the European Union is something very precious, " Mr Barroso said.
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Meanwhile green group co-leader, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, described Mr Barroso as the "absent president of Europe".
Mr Barroso was speaking after a meeting of the 27 EU commissioners in Strasbourg.
Mr Barroso faces an early test of his ability to stand up to France and Germany.
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called for a "vision of where we need to go".
European Union leaders Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy were among those present.
First up, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, for whom this is now an existential crisis.
So President Barroso is working on an idea to provide "technical assistance" to Greece.
Mr Van Rompuy and Mr Barroso then gave a joint acceptance speech, in two parts.
Despite the markets and Barroso's optimism, the global economy is expected to remain sluggish.
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Mr Barroso's allies in the national capitals, on the other hand, will be unnerved.
Mr Barroso himself lacked the support of France or Germany when he was chosen as president.
In so far as Mr Barroso has a sponsor among the big countries, it is Britain.
ECONOMIST: The beleaguered president of the European Commission
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stressed that migration should be a source of prosperity, not a human tragedy.
"The criticism that Mr Barroso is unwilling to be robust with big governments is sometimes justified, " Mr Grant says.
The Record Europe held a debate with MEPs assessing Mr Barroso's speech - watch here.
Today President Barroso said "there is no magic bullet... (a solution) will take time and sustained efforts".
However, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Monday that he believed the worst was over.
But while Mr Barroso has his romantic side, his early choices as commission president have been pragmatic.
When he took over, Mr Barroso palmed off the French commissioner with the second-level portfolio of transport.
ECONOMIST: The beleaguered president of the European Commission
But he praises Mr Barroso's commitment to free trade, competitiveness, energy security and the EU's targets for tackling climate change.
This controversy resurfaced recently, in the wake of a statement made by outspoken Brussels bureaucrat Jose Manuel Barroso.
There were sharply contrasting views among MEPs who heard Mr Barroso's speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Mr Barroso might prefer it if the relevant governments simply withdrew their nominees and sent him new candidates.
In one sense, Mr Barroso is still trying to rein in a bureaucracy that got out of control.
ECONOMIST: The beleaguered president of the European Commission
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