15/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, in Strasbourg, the European Commission approved its strategy paper on sustainable development. President Prodi, who presented the paper to the Parliament meeting in plenary, stressed that this strategy would not only be the focus of work by the European Council of Gothenburg but also of the EU/United States Summit in Gothenburg, which will precede the Council. Mr Prodi recalled that the notion of sustainable development (which "meets the needs of current generations without sacrificing future generations") had been affirmed in 1987 in the report by former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. "If we announce our long term objectives in time, we shall be successful", said Romano Prodi. He added that, once the EU has "put itself in order", it will call on the other countries of the world to do the same. EUROPE will come back to the Commission paper in detail.