Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-23-Speech-2-061"

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"en.20011023.4.2-061"2
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"Mr President, unemployment is the most serious problem facing our European national economies. Young people, women, older people and people with disabilities have a particularly hard time of it. There is a lack of access to training, vocational and continuing education, retraining and, of course, work itself. Society's weaker members must, though, be strengthened in a spirit of solidarity. Mrs Weiler is right to draw attention to the 1997 Luxembourg Summit. The Member States have been showing their true colours since the guidelines on employment policy appeared. Progress has been made in lifelong learning, in the application of practices which have proved their worth, in the involvement of both sides of industry and in action plans for local and regional employment. Above all, though, incentives for active jobseeking and for investment in research and development, the reduction of the tax burden on work and structural reforms are all still lacking. In this report, I do not find long-term strategies, but rather feverish measures for dealing with periods of slack growth. Not everything can be blamed on the tragic events of 11 September. Predictions of growth must be substantially adjusted, for example Germany's from 3% in January to 0.75% this week. Chancellor Schröder will not reach his goal of reducing the number of unemployed to 3.5 million in the election year, since the figure is expected to shoot up to 3.8 million. His famous steady hand is trembling. An additional EUR 2.5 billion will be required for unemployment benefit and for the Federal Institute for Employment. If Germany, the engine of growth, falters, the whole of the European Union will be affected. It is high time that there were financial concessions for SMEs. Taxes must not be raised still further, especially at a low point in the economic cycle. Tax reforms must be brought forward and the Member States must become more active in the fight against the black economy and tax evasion. I urge both sides of industry to make employment contracts more flexible and further modernise the organisation of work. In doing this, I am counting on the expertise and commitment of responsible managers and employees."@en1

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