Brussels, 18/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Hands off the Community method! In a resolution adopted on 17 February, the European Parliament fears that the EUROPE 2020 strategy for growth and jobs will not be able to keep its promises because of the weakness of its governance structure (see EUROPE 10162) and urges the Council of Ministers to strengthen the Community method, which the MEPs say is the only way of generating tangible outcomes. MEPs recently made the same criticism of the talk surrounding the competitiveness pact mooted by France and Germany with a view to boosting economic governance in Europe (see EUROPE 10312).
The EP adopted the draft resolution lodged by the five main political parties (EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA and ECR) with three amendments lodged by a group of more than 40 MEPs that will be voted upon along with the resolution. One of the amendments points out the key role that farming and forestry can play in an EU economic strategy to ensure economic recovery and protect the environment and rural landscape, while another says that a strong and sufficiently-funded cohesion policy is an indispensible counterpart to the EU growth and jobs strategy.
Own resources. The MEPs say that the EUROPE 2020 strategy must fill the gap between the published ambitions, the resources available and the methods used. They feel that the upcoming multiannual financial framework should reflect the EUROPE 2020 ambitions and urge the Commission to unveil proposals in June 2011 to create new funding for the European Union in order to provide it with genuine and autonomous financial resources.
The EUROPE 2020 strategy sets out seven flagship initiatives: innovation, education and getting young people into work, an EU digital market, efficient use of resources, an industrial policy suited to the age of globalisation, boosting skills and creating new jobs, and tackling poverty and social exclusion. Listing its priorities for the seven initiatives, the EP urges the member states to make tangible commitments in their reform programmes (to be submitted by the end of April) under the European semester and introduce tangible, coherent legislation to put the flagship initiatives into practice. (M.B./transl.fl)