Brussels, 27/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - On the initiative of Commissioner Pedro Solbes, the European Commission adopted a communication on Wednesday on the "Structural Indicators", by which it proposes a series of indicators to use in relation to the summary report intended for the Spring 2001 European Council, to be held in Stockholm. These indicators provide a sound balance of the four areas approved in Lisbon: employment, innovation, economic reform, and social cohesion. The summary report will be the first assessment of the strategy adopted in Lisbon last March and which is intended to make of the EU the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, with sustainable economic growth, together with a qualitative and quantitative improvement in employment and social cohesion.
Other than general economic indicators, the communication proposes 27 precise indicators in the matter: 1) employment; chosen as indicators are indicators relating to the level of employment, the level of female employment, the level of employment of the elderly, the level of unemployment, the level of long-term unemployment, and the rate of income tax on low salaries; 2) innovation and research; the indicators will, notably, measure the level of investment into education, into research and development, into information technologies and venture-capital; 3) economic reforms: the indicators concern trade integration and relative prices between Member States, prices practiced in network industries, public procurement, cross-border banking activities; 4) social cohesion: the indicators measure the degree of poverty and revenue distribution.
The Commission considers that work on these indicators must be an ongoing process.