Strasbourg, 31/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday evening in Strasbourg, the new Greek Commissioner Stavros Dimas answered questions put to him by the members of the European Parliament's Committee on Social Affairs, chaired by Dutch Green member Theodorus Bouwman. "I found a mountain of files", the new European Social Affairs Commissioner commented, seeking to present himself as a man of dialogue, modest but pragmatic.
In his introduction, Anna Diamantopoulou's successor welcomed the commitments taken by the Heads of State and Government during last week's European Council, but also recognised "how difficult it is to implement the Lisbon Strategy in concrete terms". Mr Dimas placed emphasis on the need to "modernise the European social model" and on the "importance of the open co-ordination method". Answering questions by British Labour member Stephen Hugues on his ability to defend employment and social aspects within the College, Stavros Dimas recalled his experience mainly as a governor of the Greek Industrial Development Bank and as minister in several governments, but he also recognised that it would be "exaggerated to say I am aware of everything". He undertook to work for effective application of European legislation in Member States. "Lisbon has so far failed (…). Citizens have no confidence (…). We are absolutely in need of a Commissioner who is the social face of Europe", Belgian Christian Democrat Miet Smet launched. In his response, the Commissioner noted that "we are mid-way" in the Lisbon Agenda and "only 10% of the goals have been achieved" but he was also confident, recalling that six million jobs have been created over recent years. He went on to add: "The Kok Group (Ed.: responsible for mid-term review) will serve as an engine (…). We have time before us to achieve the Lisbon objectives". In response to questions by French national Marie-Thérèse Hermange (UMP) and British Liberal Elspeth Attwool, Mr Dimas insisted on the need to "develop human capital" by keeping young people at school longer and by strengthening lifelong training. He also stressed the importance of the local dimension of employment policies and social inclusion. Questioned by several MEPs, including Irish national Brian Crowley (Fianna Fail), on flexibility in the field of employment, Mr Dimas mainly urged for favourable tax treatment for forms of early retirement that could be accompanied by resumed professional activity. On employment, the Commissioner urged for a balanced policy combining flexibility to promote the creation of employment and security for the worker. "We must not focus on ideological attitudes", he said. In response to the Portuguese Communist, Ilda Figueiredo, who asked him how he felt about the announcement to close several production sites of the Canadian company, Bombardier, Mr Dimas answered that it is up to Member States to react and to rigorously apply the directive on worker information and consultation.