Articles related to "Growth and Jobs: Relaunch of the Lisbon strategy"

The EU's Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs should be maintained even during the hard times of the ongoing recession, EU leaders agreed at their summit last week. But concrete discussions over how the European Commission's flagship reform agenda should be adapted to the crisis were postponed to a later date. EurActiv France reports.

Amid the worst economic crisis in recent times, the EU must find creative ways of meeting societal needs, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso told a group of social innovation experts yesterday (20 January), just days before the World Economic Forum brings together social entrepreneurs to offer their unique perspectives on global challenges.

Although European labour markets continued to recover in 2007, employment rates across Europe are still a long way short of the targets the EU set itself via the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs in 2000. Workers aged over 55 continue to face the greatest difficulties, new data reveals.

The Commission harbours great hopes that France will broker an agreement among the bloc on a 'Small Business Act' (SBA) for SMEs, considered vital to boosting Europe's competitiveness. Paris particularly aims to improve access to public tenders and promote greater R&D investment.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are key to reverting the negative effects of globalisation on the job market. They were behind a successful project launched two years ago to help the suffering textile sector in Portugal and have been renewed and extended to other industries.

The EU's growth and jobs strategy needs to be supplemented by a global arm if Europe wants to remain competitive in the future, argues a new report for the French government , which could become official policy when the country assumes the EU Presidency on 1 July.

Supporting creative industries through better intellectual property protection and the development of world-class IT infrastructure must become a priority for the EU, at a time when China and India are catching up on research and scientific innovation, Slovenia's Minister for Growth Ziga Turk told EurActiv ahead of the Spring Summit.

EU leaders are set to discuss the bloc's employment guidelines for the period 2008-2010 at next week's Spring Summit amid pressure from Parliament to give a more social angle to the strategy. 

While the EU-US innovation gap dropped significantly between 2003 and 2006, only a "very modest" reduction was recorded in 2007 as the US continued to steam ahead with increased high-tech exports and public investment in research and development.

Despite much-improved results over the past two years, EU governments will have to focus more on "investing in people" and "unlocking SMEs' business potential" in the next three years if they are to cope with the competitive challenge of globalisation, the Commission has said.

For the first time since 2001, the EU has outstripped the US in productivity growth, according to a recent competitiveness report from the European Commission that sees Europe 'on a growth path'.

American education standards are the most disappointing in terms of monies pumped into schooling systems, while countries such as the Czech Republic and Finland fare much better despite spending considerably less, according to a report by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development. 

With business confidence back at a high, now is not the time for complacency, Commission President José Manuel Barroso told the European Business Summit, announcing that talks on a transatlantic single market will be launched at an EU-US meeting in April.

EU leaders agreed to cut Community bureaucracy by 25% at their summit on 9 March 2007, but, to the disappointment of business leaders, they refused to commit their administrations to the same target and few other pledges were made to speed up economic reforms.

While the European economy is entering a boom phase, social reality lags behind, a number of recently published reports suggest.

The good news is that Europe's economy appears to have finally recovered, with healthy growth rates, controlled inflation and a record-low unemployment level. The bad news is that the US is still way ahead.

Expectations are high for Germany's turn at the EU's helm - crucial issues in months to come include the European Constitution, energy, the Lisbon Strategy and enlargement.

Experts in Brussels discussed the mechanics that may lead to a larger, more productive and more profitable workforce in Europe. 

An EU-funded report hints that some new member states are outperforming the EU’s largest economies in the service sector. However, it could just be that new members are playing catch-up.

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, PES president and former Prime Minister of Denmark, presented the hypothesis behind a project complementing the Lisbon agenda.

In spite of accelerated growth, the EU economy has missed the Lisbon agenda's mid-term goal in terms of employment and is unlikely to meet the overall targets, new figures by Eurostat indicate.

Strong involvement of the social partners to help embrace globalisation and targeted investment in R&D are important keys to success, explains Finnish industry boss Leif Fagernäs in an exclusive interview with EurActiv.    

Despite having delivered on growth, modernisation and membership of the EU and NATO, the Slovakian government is expected to lose elections on 17 June. Is being a "Lisbon champion" an electoral liability or is there more to it?

Social partners, regions and cities need to be more involved in the EU employment policies if Europe is to reduce unemployment, was the message from Employment Week.  

The "Employment Week" conference will focus on the employment challenges for the enlarged EU in a globalised economy and the need for new skills in the workforce.  

German economy minister Michael Glos challenges the Commission's powers to define which kinds of investments are relevant to the EU's Jobs and Growth strategy.

Millions of workers went on strike, on 28 and 29 March 2006, in France, Germany and the UK to protest against labour reforms that the countries' respective governments deem necessary to create jobs and growth.

The EU summit largely limited itself to re-confirming existing Lisbon targets, but did introduce new goals on youth employment. 

Think thanks and industry representatives got together for a thought provoking debate on labour market reforms and entrepreneurship at the European Business Summit. 

At a public hearing organised by the EESC on 20-21 March, most stakeholders spoke out in favour of a better integration of the the Lisbon reform agenda into the EU's overarching sustainable development strategy.

One week before the EU Spring Summit, two think tanks have presented an assessment of the progress of the Lisbon reforms strategy. Both studies do not hesitate to "name and shame" the good and bad member states.

One week before the EU spring summit takes stock of the progress of the Lisbon strategy leaders from the world of politics and business meet to debate how to build European excellence.

The EU should put social and environmental objectives at the heart of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs, according to a conference organised by ETUC, the Social Platform and the European Environmental Bureau.

Strikes in two of the EU's biggest economies are directly linked to core measures planned by the French and German governments to meet Lisbon targets. They put a question mark on their ability to implement painful socio-economic reforms.

Having received national reform programmes on growth and jobs from all member states, the Commission has presented its first annual progress report on the Lisbon strategy. The report is mildly optimistic.

During visits to Berlin, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Finance Minister Thierry Breton have welcomed German efforts to put an end to the socio-economic depression that the country has been going through.

With employment and deficit figures that already meet the Lisbon goals and the Growth and Stability Pact criteria respectively, Austria can afford to have an unambitious-sounding Lisbon Action Plan.

Having received, six weeks after the October 2005 deadline, 23 out of 25 national action plans for growth and jobs, the Commission has praised member states for their co-operation in implementing the Lisbon strategy. 

Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy earned cheers and boos from MEPs when he defended his stance in the 'Swedish social model row'.

Member states that have invested in active labour market policies have increased employment rates despite Europe's slow growth, says the Commission's Employment Report for 2005.

Some member states are not expected to meet the 15 October deadline for submitting their ideas on advancing the EU's Lisbon reform agenda. There are also doubts about the usefulness of the excercise.

On 20 September, the Barroso Commission will try to re-assert strategic leadership by addressing the EU's future path after the two 'No's' in France and the Netherlands.

The employment rate in almost all EU countries has grown since the Lisbon summit in 2000, but growth will have to accelerate a lot if the targets set at the summit for 2010 are to be met. 

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin presented on 1 September his second action plan on economic reform, promising to modernise France's economy and win the battle against unemployment.

Vice-President Verheugen has presented the 'Community Lisbon programme'. This will form the complement to the national action plans for growth and jobs that the member states have to finalise before October 2005.

Western Europe remains the favorite destination for foreign investments but central and eastern Europe, the US and China are increasing their attractiveness, according to a new Ernst & Young survey.

A competition day held on 31 May 2005 by AmCham EU provided an opportunity to assess the progress of DG Competition, one year into its new regime, in modernising its approach and being responsive to overall EU goals.

The Czech Republic has prioritised the areas of competitiveness, employment and sustainability of public finance. It scores highly in areas such as new technology and education, but less well in labour productivity.

The Competitiveness Council of 18 April had a first exchange of views on several recent policy initiatives related to the EU's revived agenda for growth and employment

While policy stakeholders provide advice to politicians, who admitted poor progress, other organisations are promoting innovation at grassroots level. Junior Achievement-Young Entrepreneurs (JA-YE) teaches more than one million students per year about enterprises, and awarded its 2005 prizes at a major youth event just before the Spring Summit.

The integration of financial services has been seen as one of the prerequisites to the attainment of the full economic benefits of a single European market. Progress in this area will therefore be high on the agenda of the Spring Council (22-23 March 2005).

Barroso must quickly clarify his intentions on the services directive and avoid confusing the issue with the French referendum, says the European Socialists' Party President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, in an exclusive interview on Lisbon and how to make European reforms succeed.

Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen has announced that every single one of the 900 pieces of EU legislation currently in the pipeline will be reviewed against their costs and benefits for the EU economy, and removed if necessary. 

In a frank speech defending his liberal reforms agenda, Commission President Barroso has announced a study on the economic costs of 'non-Lisbon'.

In an exclusive interview with EurActiv, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt goes beyond the concept of national action plans to revive the Lisbon agenda. What is needed, he argues, is a European engine with the Commission in the driving seat.

The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution supporting the Commission's plans for a relaunch of the Lisbon agenda for economic, social and environmental reforms.

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has launched new ideas to revive the European economy: a shift to indirect taxes, 'sunrise clauses' for internal market laws and more money for R&D.

Inspired by American trendwatcher Jeremy Rifkin, a conference in the European Parliament dreamed about a European Utopia which would eclipse the American Dream.

The Commission has presented its plans for the EU's social policies in the next five years. Business is worried that the proposals undermine the new Lisbon Agenda focus on growth and jobs. 

Focus, simplification and national ownership of the Lisbon strategy are the miracle cures the Barroso Commission has prescribed to revive the process of economic, social and environmental renewal.

The Socialist group in the European Parliament has presented a report setting out 33 ideas to tackle the Commission's proposals for the mid-term review of the Lisbon reform agenda.

The Commission wants to broaden ownership of a refocused Lisbon agenda to member states, social partners and civil society in the form of a partnership for growth and jobs.

The 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index report re-affirms the complementarity of sound sustainability policies and economic competitiveness.

Presenting its priorities for the first six months of 2005, the upcoming Luxembourg EU Presidency has promised to focus on the three dimensions of the Lisbon reform strategy. It will also try to finalise a deal on the EU budget 2007-2013 by the end of its term in office.

The Competitiveness Council has supported the Kok report, agreeing that growth and employment are prerequisites for social cohesion and sustainable development.

Incoming Commission President Barroso has presented European leaders with the Kok report and further ideas on kick-starting the Lisbon agenda. However, the Council will not present specific conclusions before the Spring Summit.

The long-awaited mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy brings very few new ideas to the table to revitalise the stalled process of essential economic and social reforms.

The European Union has had a social agenda since the early days of the European Economic Community (EEC), argues Joachim Fritz-Vannahme, director of European projects at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, in a November paper.

The Lisbon Strategy is a challenge for both France and Europe. In France, new presidential and parliamentary cycles are favourable to economic and social reform, argue Yves Bertoncini and Vanessa Wisnia-Weill in this publication from the Robert Schuman Foundation, released in September 2007.

Ian Begg, Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), assesses the progress of the Partnership for Growth and Jobs (PGJ, the name of the relaunched ‘Lisbon’ strategy) during the 2006-07 cycle.

The Robert Schuman Foundation asked Jean-Paul Betbèze, Professor of economy at the Paris II-Panthéon-Assas, for a diagnosis on the French and European economies ahead of the Spring European Summit.