Brussels, 22/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - In compliance with the conclusions of last March's Spring Summit, the European Commission has just set up a high level group on the Lisbon strategy, under the chairmanship of Mr Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands (who also chaired the Employment Task Force). Its remit is to make proposals to the Commission to give renewed stimulus to the Lisbon strategy and to improve actual delivery (especially in improving the implementation of objectives and for involving more Member States and parties concerned). It will also assess the instruments and methods used till now, indicated a spokesperson's press statement. The High-level Group will report to the Commission by 1 November next. The report will help the Commission in preparing proposals for the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy to be included in its spring report to the European Council in March 2005.
The Group will be made up of thirteen independent figures representing the different stakeholders from the unions, political authorities and academic world: Mr Wim Kok, Mr Romain Bausch Director General of SES Global (Luxembourg), Mr Niall Fitzgerald President of Unilever, co-president du Transatlantic Business Dialogue; - Antonio Gutierrez, socialist MP at Spanish Congress, former Secretary General of CCOO union; - Will Hutton, Governor at the London School of Economics; - Anne-Marie Idrac, president of RATP (Paris metro); -Wanja Lundby-Wedin, president of the Swedish Union Confederation; - Thomas Mirow, Hamburg councillor; - Bedrich Moldan, former environment minister in Czech Republic; - Luigi Paganetto, Professor of economics at the University of Rome; - Dariusz Rosati, Professor at Central School of Commerce (Poland); - Veli Sundbäck, vice-president of Nokia-Finland; - Friedrich Verztnitsch, SPÖ MP and former president of ÖGB union (Austria).