EU launches ambitious growth, job strategy
3/2/2005 11:23
The European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the European Union
(EU), on Wednesday presented a new strategy for the EU to create more growth and
jobs.
The strategy aims to revitalize the so-called Lisbon Agenda - the EU's
economic reform agenda from 2000. The actions proposed by the EC could boost GDP
(gross domestic product) by 3 percent by 2010 and create over 6 million jobs,
according to a press release of the EC.
"There is a compelling case for
urgent action," said the EC, adding that the Lisbon strategy is not on track to
deliver the expected results five years after its launch.
EC President
Barroso said: "The overall Lisbon goals were right, but the implementation was
poor. The lesson from the last five years is that we must re-focus this agenda
to deliver results".
The new economic blueprint unveiled by the EC prompts
impassioned reactions from the parliament, business groups, unions and
campaigners.
Many criticizers said that the revamped "Lisbon strategy" has at
its heart a bid to boost jobs and economic growth, with less emphasis on the
social and environmental aspects of the Lisbon process.
This resulted in
furious reactions from unions and socialist members of European Parliaments, who
warned against dropping the social and environmental "pillars" of the economic
goals.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) said: "This is a
disappointing start for the new Commission because it risks presenting Europe as
an agent for lower social standards, worse welfare states and poorer
environmental standards".
"The high road to growth - Europe's only practical
road - should be rooted in combining economic progress with higher environmental
and social standards", declared ETUC.
The business group UNICE (Union of
Industrial and
Employer's Confederations of Europe), on the other hand,
welcomed the announcement. UNICE President Jurgen Strube said, "There is
absolute urgency for Europe to retrieve its path for growth and jobs".
The
"Lisbon relaunch" made no mention of the EU's ambitious goal- conceived at the
height of the dot-com boom in 2000 - of being the "most competitive, dynamic,
knowledge-based economy in the World by 2010".
Xinhua
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