Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-09-Speech-3-009"
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"Mr President, honourable Members, a month ago, at the Conference of Presidents, I put forward our ideas for a partnership for sustainable growth and employment, thus giving new impetus to the Lisbon Strategy.
Nevertheless, we need to face facts. The first five years of the Lisbon Strategy have not delivered the desired results. There has been insufficient delivery, little ownership at national level and even less among society at large. In key areas, from productivity to research and education spending, early school-leavers or poverty, we have barely made an impression on closing the gaps that existed five years ago.
We can add to this the challenge of intense global competition and an ageing population. These are no longer challenges for the future, but the day-to-day reality for our businesses and workers. This is why Lisbon needs a new start, with fresh ambition. This is why we propose a new focus on growth and jobs in order to meet those challenges. A dynamic and innovative Europe offers us the best chance to do this. Vice-President Verheugen will set out in more detail how this new focus translates into concrete action and results.
This does not mean downgrading action in other areas. Our new social agenda, our review of sustainable development and our action on climate change show the Commission’s commitment to moving ahead across a wide range of areas.
Let me turn to two specific concerns that your resolution addresses. The first is the balance within the Lisbon Strategy. I know a variety of concerns have been raised about the new focus on actions to promote growth and jobs. This is not at all in contradiction with our social and environmental policy. Growth is a necessary precondition for an effective and more ambitious programme in terms of solidarity, just as fighting unemployment is the best protection against exclusion and poverty. Without growth, without a dynamic economy, there will be no sustainable development; we will not foster convergence between regions and our social and environmental goals will slip out of reach. However, I fully accept that lasting growth relies, in turn, on parallel progress on cohesion, our social agenda and addressing unsustainable and damaging environmental trends.
With regard to the services directive, we need an open and thriving internal market for services in the Union, as well as high-quality, accessible public services. They are key factors for a successful society. Yet we have identified a number of areas where changes will be required for the broad consensus that we would like to see to emerge. We have said that we are ready to work pragmatically with you, the Parliament, and with the presidency, in preparation for your first reading. In particular we need to ensure a framework that removes the risk of social dumping, has a broad coverage – but does not necessarily cover healthcare or services of general interest – and addresses genuine concerns about the operation of the country of origin principle.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let me end by saying a few words about the governance of the Lisbon strategy. I do not think that it is necessary for us to rewrite the Lisbon strategy completely in the course of the next few weeks. Having said that, however, a certain number of innovations have been suggested by the Commission and – let us not forget – by Parliament too.
We proposed that a European Institute of Technology should be created, that greater priority should be given to improving the regulations, particularly in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises, that there should be a greater emphasis on re-examining existing proposals, that the rules on State aid and taxation should be used in a way that would encourage the spirit of enterprise, innovation and research, that employment market reforms should concentrate on measures to help women, young people and older workers to find and keep jobs, and that a European Pact for Youth should be concluded.
In reality, I think we can say that people have a pretty clear idea of what needs to be done. The political challenge this time around lies in finding out how, at Community level, we can help them to do it in reality. It is all a matter of ownership. It is primarily because Member States – and society in general – have not made the structural reforms their own that a number of those reforms have produced disappointing results over the past five years. In response to this situation, we have made the following proposals, which you seem to approve of, if your motions for resolutions are to be believed.
First of all, we are proposing the formulation of integrated guidelines at European Union level, combining the current Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and the Employment Guidelines, so as to give Member States a clearer idea of what action they are committing themselves to. For the first time, micro-economic reforms will be dealt with in detail. This will therefore be an integrated vision encompassing macro-economic policies, micro-economic reforms and employment policy, so that Lisbon will not have a purely decorative role, but will really lie at the heart of our economic policy.
Secondly, we are proposing the development of national Lisbon programmes adapted to fit national situations. Of course, the initiative will lie with Member States, but we have already prepared, at the same time, a European Union programme on the Lisbon strategy, which offers initiatives at Community level and thus explains in detail what needs to be done at Community level and what needs to be done at national level.
Our objective for this partnership is simple: we have to modernise and invigorate our economy and our social model, and we must improve our quality of life through truly ambitious reforms. We have to realise that appropriate environmental policies can result in twin benefits, in terms of employment and ensuring lasting growth; and, in the context of economic stability, we have to improve the ability of our businesses – from the very largest to our small and medium-sized enterprises – to create more and better jobs. We also have to enhance productivity through greater investment in knowledge, innovation and people.
Thirdly, we are proposing the simplification of the compulsory provision of information, at both Community and national level, so that Member States can devote more time to implementing the reforms and less time to writing reports about them which most people will ignore. Therefore less importance should be attached to reports than to an integrated vision of the reforms currently taking place.
It is our ambition to develop active participation in these reforms, and to put them at the heart of national political debates. The European Council taking place this spring will not be the end of the road: on the contrary, it will give political impetus to the new approach. However, in order to be entirely consistent, the broad policy guidelines defined in March will have to guide the financial decisions to be taken in June. The Union must not be content with being ambitious. If it wants to succeed, it will also have to mobilise resources to match its ambitions. In this respect, a proactive agreement on the financial perspective, placing the proper emphasis on cohesion, would be a crucial factor in strengthening and developing our social model over the next few years.
At the same time, the European Council will also be opening the way for debates at national and regional level on the action programmes which Member States have been asked to submit this autumn. I personally expect a great deal from these debates. The Lisbon strategy must take its inspiration from the partnerships and dialogues which the cohesion policy has put in place in recent years between the various people involved at national, local and social level. Unless this happens, it will not be possible to mobilise those partners who are affected by its implementation.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, let me just say that, following my meetings with the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, I find it very encouraging that those institutions have, generally speaking, warmly welcomed our review of the Lisbon strategy. I am also particularly pleased to see the joint declaration issued recently by the two major European trade-union and employers’ organisations. It is, therefore, possible to reach a balanced consensus on ambitious reforms. It goes without saying that within this partnership the Members of the European Parliament will play a major role if we really want to implement these reforms. This is why I am asking you to make your contribution each year to the work of the spring European Council which, in accordance with the Treaty, lays down the guidelines which will direct the process, and also, of course, to take the lead in the political discussions which will mobilise support at national, regional and local level. This is our conception of the partnership which this Commission wishes to establish with you. We believe that, on that basis, and with that commitment, it will be possible to do much more for our Europe.
Today is the first opportunity for one of the partners with whom we want to work – one of the most important partners, the European Parliament – to express its views and establish its priorities.
Both I and the other members of the Commission welcome this debate. We want to thank you for the political investment that you have made in order to table a global motion for a resolution that reflects the vast spectrum of opinions within this House. We share many of your priorities, and we are sensitive to your concerns.
Later today we will debate the forthcoming European Council. That summit will be the start, and not the end, of the journey as far as the renewed Lisbon Strategy is concerned. I fully support the remarks made by the distinguished representative of the Luxembourg presidency.
We will only succeed if everyone feels that they have a stake in Europe’s success. That success depends on presenting a vision that mobilises popular support, gives a real sense of ownership and, above all, leads to real action at a national, regional and local level.
However, to mobilise support it must be clear why these reforms matter and that they are part of our wider vision. They are about people and the issues that matter most to them: the chance to work, a decent start for their children, security in retirement or ill-health, and quality public services. They are about a better quality of life and a better standard of living in every part of an enlarged Union, from our city centres to the heart of our rural and coastal communities. They are about binding the Union together through 21st-century infrastructure and regional investment. They are about making the most of European excellence in our business community – addressing, in particular, the concerns of small- and medium-sized enterprises – and in all areas of creativity, but also in science and technology and in our unique model for society.
They are also about achieving all this in a way that guarantees future generations the same or better possibilities than we ourselves enjoy. This goal of sustainable development underpins the Lisbon Strategy as it does the action of the Union in every area.
These are broad economic, social and environmental objectives. They were at the heart of the Lisbon Strategy when it was launched and remain at its heart today. I can promise you that this Commission will fight to ensure that they do so tomorrow, not least as we discuss the future financial perspectives over the months ahead. Then and there we will test the real commitment to cohesion and solidarity of those who are today – at least in their political discourse – on the frontline of defence of the European social model."@en1
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