Brussels, 08/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - The conference on the "contribution made by organised civil society to the Lisbon process, for a more participative Union" opened on Wednesday 8 October in Brussels, in the presence of the Italian Minister for Community Policies, Rocco Buttiglione, and the Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, Dick Roche (see EUROPE of 28 August, p.9).
In his opening speech, the President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Roger Briesch, deplored the fact that "so far the potential identified in Lisbon has not been fully exploited". He recognised that "even if some progress has been made, implementation of this strategy is greatly delayed". The EESC, its president continued, therefore calls for "implementation of the Lisbon strategy to be the subject of an effort comparable to that provided with a view to establishing the single market and single currency". He invites the "Member States but also the European institutions, regions, social partners and civil society as a whole to commit themselves more fully to achieve the Lisbon objectives".
President Briesch stressed that the main aim of the Lisbon strategy, which consists in making Europe the most competitive knowledge economy in the world, remains "an abstract concept reserved for the European elite". Roger Briesch felt it was urgent to make an effort to "restore the trust of European citizens and create a positive picture for the future founded on citizen participation, in order to guarantee a more balanced breakdown of wealth and surpluses produced by modern technology". He went on to add: "The Lisbon approach must be brought back down to the level of our daily lives (…). We must endeavour to achieve a Europe of inclusion, to modernise the European social model and raise the challenge of globalisation". This, he continued, involves increased investment in the development of a knowledge society, in innovation, in new knowledge and in new jobs, in short in aims which are at the centre of the Lisbon strategy. He went on to conclude: "What we need is an effort comparable to that deployed with a view to establishing the single market and single currency. We need a New Deal".
We recall that the EESC adopted a resolution on the Lisbon strategy during its February plenary session, in which it expressed concern about the delay in implementing the strategy (see EUROPE of 1 March, p.17).