Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-22-Speech-4-023"
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"en.20040422.2.4-023"2
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"Mr President, I wish to thank Mrs Hermange for her report – I shall focus on employment – and also the Commissioner for his statement this morning.
Mrs Hermange has the correct approach: we are not seeking to amend the detail of the structure of the guidelines. When we agreed to the streamlining of the economic and employment guidelines last year, we implicitly agreed not to unpack the guidelines themselves until 2006 – the mid-point. That is the right approach: we need that stability in the guideline structure.
However, we must acknowledge that we need to focus ever more upon the implementation of both the economic guidelines and in particular, perhaps, the employment guidelines. The problem lies there: Member States are not implementing the guidelines properly.
Therefore, we have introduced a number of recitals that seek to focus upon key areas of implementation. For example, Amendment 1 concentrates on research and development. With the streamlining of the broad economic and employment guidelines we have every right to expect a comprehensive European framework for investment in lifelong learning, research and development and infrastructure to create a European Union engine for growth and to transform that growth into full and better employment and more social cohesion. That is what the Lisbon process is about and we are falling far short of that at the moment.
In our Amendment 2 we focus on a couple of issues highlighted by the Employment Task Force – the Kok report – namely adaptability and lifelong learning. They are there in the employment guidelines. However, we must acknowledge that in all the national plans, to a greater or lesser extent, there are failures in achieving the targets laid down in those respects.
Amendment 3 concerns taking possession of the delivery of guidelines by national parliaments, social partners, NGOs, and local and regional authorities. We need to encourage those tiers of government to take possession of the guidelines and ensure their proper implementation.
I particularly welcome Mrs Hermange's Amendment 6 on better harnessing of the structural funds for delivery of the guidelines. I also welcome Amendment 7 to encourage companies to better anticipate economic, technical and industrial change. Throughout this mandate, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has insisted on a proactive approach to the management of industrial change. She is right to make that call.
Finally, I know that Mr Bushill-Matthews intends to table an oral amendment to Amendment 5 to place emphasis upon the need to retain older people in the workforce. We would be happy to accept such an amendment."@en1
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