This afternoon in the European Parliament in Brussels, Dr Žiga Turk, the Minister responsible for development, participated in the public discussion of the Committee of the European Parliament on Economic and Monetary Affairs with national parliaments on the topic of the Lisbon Strategy, under the title “Broad economic policy guidelines – revision of the cycle: What challenges European and national economic policy?”. The event constitutes a continuation of the previous successful cooperation of the Committee of the European Parliament on Economic and Monetary Affairs with national parliaments, which has taken place since 2005.
Mrs Pervenche Berès, the President of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, invited Minister Turk to the aforementioned event as the Slovenian Minister for development and the national coordinator for the Lisbon Strategy, to actively participate in the public debate with national parliaments on the broad economic policy guidelines, which represent a component of the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs. The event features representatives of the national parliaments of all 27 European Union Member States. Besides the representatives of national parliaments, contributors to the event included Joaquín Almunia, the Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, and Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian Minister of Economic Affairs, among others.
Minister Turk actively participated in the event in the first part of the discussion with his contribution on new challenges faced by Europe and its future development in relation to the Lisbon Strategy. Namely, an important emphasis at the public debate in Brussels is the efficient implementation of the Lisbon Strategy goals, especially in seeking objective goals for improving European competitiveness in all sectors.
As a key European project, the Lisbon Strategy introduces measures for the Member States aimed at the quicker and more stable economic growth of individual countries and Europe as a whole. Slovenia’s Presidency in 2008 will see the end of the first three-year cycle of the Lisbon Strategy. The updated package of documents must respond especially to the key challenges faced by the European Union.
Minister Turk stressed that the new 2008–2011 cycle must focus in particular on the implementation of reforms and the achievement of goals, for the Lisbon Strategy works well and yields good results in the field of growth and employment in Europe. He went on to present the key priorities of the new Lisbon Strategy, with an emphasis on creativity as a horizontal topic of the four Lisbon priorities. He added that the promotion of research, know-how and innovation is of key significance for the stimulation of growth and job creation, the efforts for an innovative Europe being especially important. Furthermore, it is essential to commit to the establishment of know-how as the fifth freedom, which will enable the free flow of and free access to know-how for all citizens of the European Union. The introduction of the flexicurity concept in the labour market and increased investment in human resources constitute important goals of the European Union policies.
“During the presidency, Slovenia will strive to adopt in a timely manner the updated package of documents, as well as to prepare important findings at the spring meeting of the European Council and to ensure a smooth beginning of the new Lisbon cycle,” said Minister Turk. “The Lisbon Strategy for the period 2008–2011 must first and foremost be a strategy by which Europe not only responds to, but also sets the trends of globalisation; by which Europe creates ideas, values and opinions. Most of all, however, this must be a strategy which will make Europe the most creative area in the world,” he concluded.
