Publicat a Cordis el 6 de febrer de 2007
Reaching the ambitious goals laid out in the Lisbon Strategy will require greater coordinated action between EU, national and local authorities, MEPs and members of national parliaments have said.
Their comments came at the third joint parliamentary meeting on the Lisbon Strategy, which took place at the European Parliament on 5 February.
‘To meet the goal of becoming the world’s most competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010, we need to act on all levels: local, regional, national and European,’ said Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering, who opened the meeting.
He reminded participants that national parliaments in particular have a crucial role to play. Many of the important policy areas linked to the revitalisation of the European economy are either wholly or mainly matters for national governments and parliaments. Member States are solely responsible for implementing their national reform programmes.
When it comes to labour market reforms, changes in tax systems, improving opportunities for education, encouraging greater participation in the workforce of women and older people and many other policies, the EU’s role is only to help Member States through coordination, benchmarking and encouragement.
To move forward, Mr Pöttering said exchanges between European and national parliaments on the Lisbon Goals are crucial. He also underlined the need to reduce bureaucracy and red tape, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises, and called for renewed support for a constitution for the EU.
The needed for coordinated action was echoed by Norbert Lambert of the German Bundestag and co-chair of the meeting. He likened Europe to an orchestra, which must be more than a gathering of soloists. ‘Regarding Lisbon, it is not unreasonable to say that we have only just agreed on the piece of music the orchestra is supposed to play, but we will need many more rehearsals before it is ready to be played in public!’ he said.
The meeting also heard from two of rapporteurs responsible for drafting a resolution on the Lisbon Strategy, to be ready ahead of the Spring European Council. They outlined some of the areas that they will address, including the need for greater balance between business and workers’ security. The resolution is expected to propose a number of measures to improve employment prospects, including a reduced tax burden on employment and training for the most vulnerable and least qualified unemployed workers. It will also tackle the issue of energy, calling for a series of timetables for action to increase the use of renewable energy and improve energy efficiency.