Intervening during the plenary session of the third Joint Parliamentary Assembly on the Lisbon Strategy, the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso commented on the conclusions of the three workgroups regarding practical measures to improve the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. With particular reference to the need to strike the right balance between competitiveness and social rights, Barroso declared it is possible to benefit from “a Europe that is flexible and favourable to business while at the same time guaranteeing high levels of social protection”. To this end Basrroso proposed the creation of social safety nets “not to protect uncompetitive jobs but to protect people”. Speaking on behalf of the current German Presidency of the EU, the spokesman of the Federal Chancery, Thomas de Maizière supported the proposal of the Commission to reduce the administrative costs for PMI to help promote the creation of jobs and “ensure the minimum possible level of hardship for citizens and firms. At the same time he underlined the commitment of the government in Berlin to beginning negotiations with Russia on the long-term security of energy supplies. The debate between the European and national deputies who intervened during the session mainly focused on questions linked to energy, climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions and demographic changes.
