Brussels, 12/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Monday Spanish Prime Minister, José Maria Aznar addressed a presentaion letter to the Head of States and Governments on the Barcelona summit. He sets out organising debates around three main axes: macro-economic issues will be tackled on Friday 15 march in morning, financial market and network industries integration, as well as the Strategy for Employment in the afternoon. International issues and the Treaty of Nice in Ireland will be discussed during diner. Saturday morning will focus on the adoption of the Summit conclusions. The full text is as follows:
On 15 and 16 March we will be holding the Spring European Council in Barcelona on the economic, social and environmental issues included in the Lisbon Strategy. It will be our second meeting devoted to giving direction and new impetus to our reform agenda. It is vital that we come with the intention of obtaining concrete results which will enable us to achieve the objectives called for by our citizens: more jobs, greater capacity for growth and greater prosperity for all. For our work, we have the excellent contribution made by the Commission's Summary Report and an important basis for agreement in the form of the Key Issues Paper approved by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. I believe that the Summary Report clearly identifies our achievements and the challenges we face and suggests balanced and appropriate lines of action. It proposes a programme of action which is both ambitious and realistic and which will enable us to achieve the results we all seek. At this the first European Council held since the definitive introduction of the euro, we must take advantage of the impetus it has created to achieve "More Europe". The Presidency has selected a number of priority areas on which the debate should be focused: policies for achieving full employment, the education and training of our citizens, the creation of an efficient single financial market and the integration of European energy, transport and communications networks. The Lisbon Strategy sprang from shared convictions and values, from the fact that we Europeans believe in the same social principles and the measures necessary for reforming our economies. That is why I believe that we will be able to make progress with regard to these priorities. All of them are fundamental to our efforts to turn Europe into one of the most open, dynamic and competitive economic areas in the world, with greater ability to respond and greater potential for growth: lasting and sustainable growth which respects the environment and, above all, creates employment. Our meeting will start at 9.00 on Friday 15 March with an exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament. After our discussion with Pat Cox, I propose that the proceedings be divided into three sessions: two on Friday and the third on Saturday, devoted to approval of the conclusions. All the sessions will also be attended by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and the Ministers for Economic Affairs. The first session will start at 9.30. At that session, we will examine the general economic situation and review those aspects of our economic and social modernisation strategy which require revision and fresh impetus annually. In particular I would like to exchange views concerning the co-ordination of economic polices and the broad economic policy guidelines for 2002, the Sustainable Development Strategy, improvement of the competitiveness of undertakings and aspects of the Social Agenda. At 11.15 we will pause to hold a working meeting with the Heads of State or Government of the candidate countries. That meeting will be entirely devoted to the best way of ensuring that our future members (who in recent years have proved their commitment to reforms and economic and social modernisation) are involved in and committed to the Lisbon Strategy. I am convinced that the candidate countries' participation in Barcelona will enrich our discussions. Two parallel meetings will be held on the occasion of that meeting. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Member States and the candidate countries will discuss the external dimension of the Lisbon Strategy while the Ministers for Economic Affairs and their colleagues from the candidates countries will tackle the incorporation of the Lisbon objectives into those countries' economic policies and structural reforms. At 13.30 we conclude our meeting with the candidates countries and we will then transfer to the Palacio de Pedralbes where the Heads of State or Government, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and the Ministers for Economic Affairs of the Member States of the European Union and the candidate countries will be invited to a luncheon at 14.00 by Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain.At 16.30 we resume our discussions with a session devoted to areas which require fresh impetus as a matter of priority if we are to achieve our objectives for this decade. To facilitate the proceedings, the discussion will be divided into three main sections. The first will deal with policies to turn the objective of full employment into reality. We will have to discuss the revision of the European Employment Strategy, the most appropriate measures to increase participation in the labour market and the promotion of worker mobility and skills. In the second section I would like to bring together matters connected with the integration of our markets and the creation of a truly efficient economic area. I believe that we must focus especially on financial markets, on the opening-up and interconnection of energy markets and on transport and telecommunications. The third set of topics I would like to deal with groups together education and matters connected with the European research and development area. At 21.15, together with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, we will hold the traditional working dinner at the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I, at which we will examine the situation in the Middle East and other foreign policy topics. Prior to that, at 20.45 and at the same venue, the Heads of State or Government will hold a brief meeting to discuss the progress of ratification of the Treaty of Nice by Ireland, in accordance with the wishes of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and the oral presentation by Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council, of his report entitled "Preparing the Council for Enlargement", which is annexed hereto. After that presentation, the Presidency will submit for your approval the procedure to be applied to that report so that the European Council in Seville can take the measures it considers appropriate, as we have mentioned. The Ministers for Economic Affairs will hold their dinner in parallel. On Saturday 16 March we will meet again at 9.30 in the morning to start our third working session devoted to adopting the conclusions. I hope to be able to conclude this meeting at 12.30. I am sure that our discussions will be fruitful and that we will be able to show our citizens that we have made some real and positive progress towards achieving our objectives by 2010.