The five proposals” “

Attracting “brains” by investing in research; facilitating the free internal circulation of capital and goods; creating an environment favourable for businesses; promoting the vocational training of the young and “active ageing” to develop the labour market; and providing incentives for eco-compatible products: these are the five main proposals that emerge from the “Kok Report”, presented to the European Council in Brussels on 4-5 November, as part of a wide-ranging strategy to revive the Lisbon Agenda. Gianni Borsa, SIR correspondent in Brussels, has sounded out some views on the Report’s proposals. COMPETITIVE ECONOMY, SOCIAL COHESION AND ENVIRONMENT. The Union had launched the Agenda in 2000, with the aim of turning its own economy into “the most competitive one in the world founded on knowledge, capable of long-term development, and accompanied by a growth in employment, greater social cohesion and respect for the environment”. The Council evaluated in recent days the analyses conducted by a group of European experts, chaired by former Dutch premier WIM KOK, to verify the results achieved at the halfway stage (the deadline fixed by the Lisbon Agenda is 2010) and make the necessary adjustments in approach. Operational decisions on the Agenda were deferred to the spring summit in 2005. According to Kok, however, “we need to act together and to do so now”. “Only various structural measures and changes, interlinked, may release the potential of the Union’s economy”, despite the fact that it is having to come to terms with increased competition on international markets, the problem of a long recession and a world context charged with tensions due to terrorism and wars. For his part JAN PETER BALKENENDE, current Dutch premier and President of the European Council, added during the summit: “To promote the growth of social Europe, a strong and competitive Europe is needed. At the centre of our operation, however, there must be solidarity”. “THE METHOD OF UNANIMITY NEEDS TO BE OVERCOME IN THE EU”. The EU summit had been preceded, on the morning of Thursday 4 November, by a “tripartite rendezvous”, between the Presidency of the Council, the Presidency of the Commission and representatives of the trades-union and employers’ associations, to tackle the problems of the economy, employment and development. “To achieve these objectives, the method of unanimity needs to be overcome in the Council. If we wait for agreement to be reached between 25 different countries – said outgoing President of the Commission ROMANO PRODI – our action will be blocked and we will fail to carry out any reform. Moreover, the Lisbon Agenda involves precise budgetary commitments if we wish to promote investments for research, technological applications, the efficient use of human resources, and environmental sustainability”. THE PROBLEM OF EMPLOYMENT AND BUSINESS RELOCATION. “The Kok Report seems to us realistic and balanced – explains JOHN MONKS, the English general secretary of the European Confederation of Trades Unions (CES-ETUC) -. Of course there are those who would like to follow particular strategies to achieve the results contained in the Lisbon Agenda and there are those who emphasise other priorities. We have recalled the grave problems of employment, quality of work, business relocation and pension reforms. These are interlinked issues”. The trades unions regard with apprehension the American economic situation, “the public debt of the USA, and the value of the dollar on financial markets. For all these reasons – explains Monks – it is essential that EU policy be placed at the guidance and service of economic development, closely linked with social development and environmental defence”. The trade-union leader thus insists on the need for “dialogue and social partnership” as “key elements” of the whole strategy of the Union. STABILITY OF PRICES, QUALITY OF PRODUCTS, INNOVATIVE PROCESSES. “Consumer confidence”, “price stability”, and “consumption growth”, on the other hand, are the essential points underlined by JURGEN STRUBE, the German President of the Union of European Industrialists (UNICE), who adds: “In all our reasoning and in all our action, we must never forget that economies are interdependent, that we have strong transatlantic links, and that new challenges and fierce competition are emerging from China and the Far East. Our businesses must also realise that, for all this, a qualitative improvement of our products for export and also a modernization of production processes are imperative”.