As they have not been involved in the work of the high level group on the Lisbon agenda chaired by Wim Kok, social NGOs have now published their own review of the strategy "to make Europe the most competitive economy in the world by 2010".
During the presentation of their paper at a conference on 20 October 2004, the Social Platform criticised the fact that "the social aspects of Lisbon have been subordinated to economic stability, cost cutting and deficit reduction".
"The continuous erosion of the Lisbon goals from a sustainable development strategy to a 'growth at any cost' approach has further weakened the European social model," complained President Anne-Sophie Parent.
After initial progress in creating new employment rates are now stagnating, finds the Platform, complaining that "recent initiatives have focused more upon quantity than quality of employment". The organisation points out that policy-makers often wrongly assume that unemployed people are unwilling to work, thereby neglecting the real problem, which is the lack of quality jobs.
In the area of education and training, the Social Platform recognises some progress. However, it has expressed concerns that the debates around education focus on the employment factors alone, rather than taking into account "personal fulfilment" and "active citizenship".
According to social NGOs, Lisbon has not helped in modernising the social protection systems. In their view, any reform should not only focus on "cost-cutting and risk-shifting from society to the individual", but it should be ensured that social systems fulfil their role as collective guarantees against poverty and social exclusion.
The high level expert group chaired by Wim Kok will present its report to the Commission on 3 November 2004 and to the European Council on 5 November 2004.
