Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-15-Speech-2-050"
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"en.20000215.3.2-050"2
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"Madam President, we can only endorse the general guidelines of the five-year programme and of the programme for 2000, set out with so much enthusiasm by President Prodi this morning.
In the two documents, strong emphasis is placed on the need to define new forms of European governance and, to this end, to introduce a new agenda for the Commission, establishing more stringent priorities in the pursuit of the goal of full employment, through more efficient coordination of the economic and social policies of the States, and, primarily – allow me to stress this – of the nations that have joined the monetary union and which must be enabled to become the first example of closer cooperation.
To this end, I shall confine myself to stressing, out of all the choices available, the importance of three priority decisions which should, in the drawing-up of action programmes for the government of the Union, be the basis for both the Commission’s agenda and the actions of the European Union in the coming months.
Firstly, the promotion of and participation in the drafting of joint plans for the creation of an integrated services network in the transport and energy sectors, with the backing of the European Investment Bank.
Secondly, the approval of investments – where the parameters are binding when drawing up action programmes on employment – to be made in individual countries via Community projects in the priority sectors of research, innovation and training. I feel that these parameters – particularly those of a qualitative nature, resulting from investments in continuous training, refresher courses
adaptability and retraining of older workers – are considerably more significant and binding owing to their lasting effects over the medium term than the simple drawing up of annual quantitative objectives, that are always debatable, regarding new employment or employment cuts.
If, among other things, as the programme of the Portuguese Presidency stresses as well, the Commission could promote a new phase of social dialogue, focusing on an agreed strategy of socialisation and diffusion of knowledge, in other words, a strategy for employability and the definition of its rules, this would allow us to take a step towards having employees participate in the informed and consensual management of the restructuring and reemployment processes.
Thirdly, I do not think that the decrease in the number of the working population, owing to the ageing of the population, is unavoidable and inevitable for the European Union. This is not just because of the existence of margins which would permit an increase in the number of working women and immigration, but because we need to be determined in reversing the widespread trend of early retirements from the job market, and direct the coordinated reform of social welfare systems, certainly not towards large reductions in future pension payments but towards the active use of people’s increased life expectancy and towards a longer working life."@en1
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