Brussels, 28/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - As announced in yesterday's EUROPE, p.9, the Commission adopted on Wednesday its new agenda for social policy, until 2005. Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou will present it at the plenary session of the European Parliament, next week in Strasbourg (and not, as was agreed, this Wednesday afternoon before the Employment and Social Affairs Committee). The informal Social Council of July 8 in Paris will have an initial discussion.
This agenda outlines the ways to modernise the European Social model, to promote greater numbers and better jobs and translate into concrete actions the political undertakings made at the European Councils in Feira and Lisbon. It will form an essential contribution to the working programme of the French Council Presidency in view of the European Summit in Nice in December.
Commenting on this adoption, Anna Diamantopoulou indicated: "we do not seek to harmonise social policies but to mobilise support towards common European objectives in order to achieve the strategic goal agreed in Lisbon: to make Europe become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy capable of sustaining economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion."