Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-12-Speech-3-012"
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"en.20050112.3.3-012"2
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"Mr President, we have heard from the Presidency about its expectations and priorities. Let me comment briefly on just three of the main issues that will be on the agenda of the Luxembourg Presidency; there are many others, but I wish to concentrate on three.
The first is the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy. Europe is facing very important challenges, most of which were already identified at Lisbon 2000. But we could say today that the challenges from globalisation and the ageing of the population make even clearer the need to adapt to increasingly difficult situations. Europe's prosperity is under threat. To tackle this threat we need more growth and more jobs. If we continue on the path of low, diminishing economic growth, we put all our policies at risk, but in particular our capacity to ensure solidarity and security and to preserve and improve the European model. As outlined in the Kok report, to be more effective the Lisbon priorities need to be refocused, streamlined and prioritised. Too many priorities means no priority at all. Growth and jobs must be our priorities.
The Commission is working on a report which will present its views on the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy and propose guidelines for future action. At this point in the preparation of this report, two elements strike me as particularly consensual. The first is the knowledge economy. Returning to growth will require considerable investment in knowledge. Companies cannot become more competitive without a better-prepared labour force. Only well-trained people can ensure high productivity. This requires unprecedented effort in the areas of research, development, education and training. Particular effort will be required to involve young people in this investment for knowledge. Higher productivity should lead to higher growth, which, in turn, would create more jobs. I do not see knowledge purely as an instrument for other objectives: knowledge in itself is an important goal and a vehicle for self-realisation.
The second consensual point I can underline at this stage is about coherence in implementation, the delivery problem. The coherence between national actions and European action is a critical factor for success. This means better implementation of the objectives agreed in common, which, in turn, means more responsibility and more empowerment at national level to deliver the common objectives. In this vein, the Commission report will also highlight clearly the importance of ensuring ownership of the revised Lisbon Strategy by the Member States. All in all, I must stress that the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy is, first, an agenda for modernisation. Whether we will succeed depends on our ability to establish an effective partnership between our institutions and citizens to deliver this reform."@en1
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