EU heads of states and government will be discussing the reform of the flagging Lisbon strategy during the yearly Spring Summit on 22-23 March.
Following the recommendations of an expert group chaired by former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, the Commission has proposed re-focussing the strategy on growth and jobs (see EurActiv, 31 Jan. 2005).
The overarching debate about the refocused strategy is how to balance its three dimensions: economic, social and environmental.
The main issues to be discussed by EU leaders will include:
- Increasing national ownership of the Lisbon strategy with national action plans;
- Simplifying the strategy by including fewer and more targeted objectives and by limiting reporting requirements.
Although the objectives of the strategy are fairly uncontroversial (more and better quality jobs, strengthening growth and competitiveness, etc.), the ways to achieve them have stirred heated controversy, mainly along traditional left-right lines but also along country lines.
The Bolkestein directive's proposal to liberalise the services sector has focussed arguments on how to achieve competitiveness while at the same time preserving a high degree of social protection.
France has had to withdraw its initial support for the directive - and indeed publicly reject it through the voice of its President Jacques Chirac - because the confusion between the perceived neo-liberal Bolkestein reform and the Constitution risk leading to a French 'non' vote on the referendum on 29 May.
