Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-19-Speech-2-205"
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"en.20080219.30.2-205"2
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"Madam President, Mr President-in-Office, ladies and gentlemen, as far as the Commission is concerned, today’s debate is a fundamental one about the future position of Europe in the world. It is about our response to the economic, social and environmental challenges of our time. European integration, which has brought together 27 countries and almost 500 million people, is our great strategic strength. We no longer weaken ourselves through strife, and so Europe has become, in every respect, one of the most appealing regions in the world.
We need more efforts to create a truly knowledge-based society. Unfortunately, we are still far short of our target of spending 3% of Europe’s GDP on research by 2010, and I note with grave concern that the gap is widening rather than narrowing. There is another trend that I find even more alarming, namely the fact that, although European companies are actually spending more, not less, on research and development than in past years, they are tending to invest that money outside rather than within Europe.
The European Research Area must become a reality. If we do not succeed in keeping research and development activities in Europe, we shall not manage to keep jobs in Europe either.
We know that we must continue to strengthen the internal market. We need to release the full potential of the vast majority of our businesses, by which I mean the 23 million small and medium-sized enterprises that employ two thirds of the entire European labour force. We have already set the wheels in motion with a number of initiatives, but we intend to move up another gear in June with the Small Business Act.
Another immediate priority is a vigorous drive to incorporate energy and climate goals into our growth and employment policy. We are keen to furnish evidence that environmental challenges can be converted into economic opportunities and social progress. We need a strong European industrial sector to take up the baton, for we are firmly convinced that a leading European role in the realms of energy efficiency, new technology and economical use of resources would not only be good for the environment but would also boost employment.
Environment-friendly products and processes are in greater demand than ever before. Responsible policies designed to combat climate change are not based on a deindustrialisation of Europe but on the viability of Europe as an industrial location, and on industries in Europe which produce without harming the environment and which export environmental protection.
We take the view that we could become far better yet at addressing this issue. To this end, we need a great joint effort on the part of the European Union and the Member States. We now have a reliable framework for that purpose. We have a partnership which is based on dialogue and critical assessment of previous achievements, and which has proved its worth. Three years ago, with the integrated guidelines, we established a reliable set of reference points with which European and national reforms can be aligned.
I am well aware that some are questioning our proposal that the guidelines in the narrower sense of the term be left untouched. In making that proposal, the Commission was not driven by dogmatism or obstinacy. We did not want any cosmetic packaging. We wanted to emphasise the continuity of the aim of reform and the direction of the reforms in the European Union. At the same time, we undertook a thoroughly critical review and stated plainly where the weaknesses of the past three years have lain in order to learn from them. This is why we are proposing the change of emphasis I have described to you on aspects such as the social and environmental dimensions, and this change has also found its way into the guidelines.
We have also proposed a new Community programme, which – unlike its predecessor – is not a large and motley assortment of projects but a focused programme. It reflects the overarching priorities of the Lisbon strategy for growth and employment.
Our growth and employment policy, ladies and gentlemen, remains the main interest of this Commission. It is at the very top of our list of priorities, because it is all about more jobs, more prosperity and better protection of the environment.
The internal market is the foundation stone of our prosperity, and the common currency is a precious political and economic asset. We are not exposed to the imponderables of the age or the storms of globalisation. Integration gives us the chance to help shape the globalised era in accordance with our own vision.
This global age, however, will not bear the stamp of one single country or continent. Japan, the United States and the European Union face a challenge from emerging countries such as China, India, Russia and Brazil, which – like ourselves – are vying for top spot in the global economic and technological rankings.
We believe that this new age offers us great opportunities and new options, but only if we remain alert to the signs of the times and are fully aware of all the risks. At times of global mobility, the question of how secure jobs are in the European Union and how we can guarantee more jobs, and well-paid jobs, in the future is the real social issue of the age. Let me repeat: the social issue of our time is the question of whether we shall have, and retain in the long term, a sufficient number of high-quality jobs.
The resolution of this key issue is at the heart of the revised Lisbon strategy, our partnership for growth and employment. This strategy is the European response to globalisation.
We have carried out a review after three years, and we can be satisfied with the findings. These have been good years for growth and employment. Many millions of jobs have been created, and the growth rate has been higher than in the preceding years. For the first time, productivity has risen faster than in the United States. People have begun to feel the benefits of essential structural reforms. But it would be wrong to rest on our laurels. We have not yet reached our destination. We still have a lengthy path ahead of us and more reforms to carry out. We do not need an oracle to realise that the distinguishing feature of our age is not rigidity but constant change. That still frightens many people, especially those who fear that they will be left behind by these changes and join the losers in the globalisation process.
This is another reason why it is important that the partnership for growth and employment should be even more firmly rooted within our societies. We believe we have found a strategy which, unlike the original Lisbon strategy dating from 2000, is realistic and will deliver the desired results. That is also the aim of the Commission’s proposal for the next three years. We believe that the basic orientation is right, but we also believe that adjustments are still needed on some of the issues that hold the key to the future.
For example, in the next three years there is a particular need to place greater emphasis on the social dimension of our partnership for growth and employment. That, I think, will be the core issue. Education, training and skill levels need to be improved. We can only confront change by helping all individuals, from earliest infancy and throughout their lives, to develop all their talents, to keep learning new things and to remain flexible. That is everyone’s right. This is the only way we can ensure that those who lose their jobs are not condemned, along with their families, to live on the fringes of society in permanent unemployment and poverty.
We need a policy that boosts employment and enables people to make a new start at any stage in their lives. This is not a task for politicians alone but for European entrepreneurs and companies too. Let me make that crystal-clear, particularly in the light of some recent events. Entrepreneurs and companies that are not in the picture yet will have to do some rethinking, because a good and motivated workforce is a company’s most valuable asset, and can give it that fine but all-important competitive edge."@en1
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