Brussels, 08/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - Formulate some thought on the document by the Portuguese Presidency for the Lisbon Summit, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) mainly congratulated itself for the reference it made to social partners. This while underlining their "autonomous role" for the collective bargaining and in the field of industrial relations. For ETUC the "social dialogue must make a qualitative jump and change gear" and "it awaits an positive and significant answer for European employers at an inter-professional and sectoral level." In its comments the ETUC still indicates that:
1. A Europe of innovation and knowledge, as put forward for the Lisbon Summit, must be the instrument to reach full employment. to achieve a growth in employment of 1.5% per year and a fall in unemployment of 1% per year, Europe must experience qualitative and sustainable growth of 3.5% per year;
2. The EU must tackle poverty and social exclusion as quickly as possible;
3. Complementarity - and not subordination - must be carried out between marco-economic lines and those for employment. The action plan on a society of innovation and knowledge and the strategy for employment must be parallel. To promote the participation of employees in the process of structural changes, an effective contribution would be the Directive on informing and consulation of workers at a national level, be adopted as quickly as possible;
4. The ETUC wants to actively take part in the debate on the future of the European Social model, whose aim must be to renew and not destroy. The ETUC specifies that this debate must imperatively be linked to that of the European dimension of taxation in the aim of guaranteeing funds for social protection;
5. The "Luxembourg method" must also be applied to carry out social convergence with specific guidelines containing detailed indicators and benchmarks.