Tag: Lisbon

National parliaments will need to work hard to get to grips with EU legislative proposals quickly and join forces with their counterparts elsewhere in the EU if they are to make the most of the additional scrutiny powers granted to them under the Lisbon Treaty, Caroline Wunnerlich, managing director of Fleishman-Hillard Europe, told EurActiv in an interview. 

Today's entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty should help the European Union to become "a real entity on the global stage," Elaine Cruikshanks, CEO of the Brussels arm of public affairs firm Hill & Knowlton, told EurActiv in an interview.

"There is unlikely to be anyone with locus standi who would challenge non-compliance with Community law [in the European Court of Justice]" on the Irish protocol issue, writes Stanley Crossick, the founder of the European Policy Centre and a commentator on EU policies, on his blog.

The only viable option for the Irish government to resolve the Lisbon Treaty crisis is "to hold a second referendum on the substantive question of whether or not Ireland remains a member state of the EU," writes John O'Brennan, a lecturer on European politics and society at the National University of Ireland, in an October paper for the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

National communication plans on Europe tend to see the EU as a problem, implying that "how to communicate" dominates "what to communicate," write Judith Merkies and Marcel Canoy of the European Commission. Instead, we'd better accept Europe as a fact of life, they argue.

Romania has ratified the Treaty of Lisbon by parliamentary vote after a huge majority of MPs approved the text yesterday (4 February). Meanwhile, France's parliament approved a constitutional amendment necessary to begin the ratification process of the treaty itself.

Changing demographics will have a wide-ranging impact on income, pensions and healthcare in years to come, former BEUC director Jim Murray told EurActiv in an exclusive interview. Reflecting upon almost twenty years as head of the European consumers' organisation, Murray highlighted digital rights, nanotechnology and GM technology as the predominant issues to emerge during his tenure.   

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'.

A recent study by a migration NGO has stirred up the debate on the economic effects of labour migration from eastern Europe suggesting that gains were only marginal. But the UK government and industry federations disagree with the finding.

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

Turkey should develop a National Lisbon Reform Programme, says an expert report. Other reforms should tackle the issues of employment of women and trade union rights.

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.    

For 13 years, the European Union has been fighting to create the jobs it takes to counter demographic change and worldwide competition. However, millions of jobs created are still not sufficient.

The EU Spring Summit has spurred a limited number of critical comments in the press.

The EU summit backs more cooperation on energy policy, but shies away from hot issues of energy market de-regulation and goals for renewable energy.

A general strike is looming in France after PM Domenique de Villepin refuses to back down on reform plans after a weekend of violent street protests.

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.

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.

Employment is slowly rising throughout almost all of the EU, two Eurostat reports say. But growth is too slow to meet the Lisbon targets, and regional disparities are strong.

In a pamphlet on the future of Europe in a global marketplace, the UK Finance Minister Gordon Brown has called for far-reaching reforms in most economic policy areas. But critics say the UK is not leading by example.

The worldwide Family Business Network has awarded its annual prize in Brussels, and commented on its contribution to Europe’s competitiveness.

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. 

The latest Eurostat report on science and technology shows that foreign ownership of innovations is high in the new member states.