Brussels, 24/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - How to achieve the economic and social objectives of the EU to the backdrop of greater globalisation, competition and an ageing population? Such is the question put by the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, to the European social partners during the Tripartite Social Summit on 24 October in London (EUROPE 9051), to encourage them to send a clear message to the Hampton Court Summit on 27 October. Mr Barroso had also invited them to express their views on the forthcoming 2006-2008 working programme in the context of European Social Dialogue. As they had announced during the European Social Dialogue summit on 29 September this year (EUROPE 9039), the European social partners jointly support the Lisbon strategy for growth and employment. They also agree on the need to adjust social systems and labour markets to safeguard common values of solidarity and cohesion, as well as the importance of rapidly adopting the EU budget for 2007-2013. Mr Barroso said after the meeting that all had acknowledged this work should be continued in common. “I am convinced that we can succeed if we focus on the real problems and if we contribute to the modernisation of the European Social Model but we must avoid taking an ambiguous attitude”, Ernst-Antoine Seillière, UNICE President (European employers) commented. The “right questions must focus on growth and employment and reform of national social systems”, he added. John Monks, speaking in his capacity as general secretary for the European trade unions (ETUC), said the working programme 2006-2008 must above all cover the social, economic, transport, and energy aspects as well as the priority investment areas. The 2006-2008 working programme of European social partners will be discussed and probably approved during the meeting of the committee of the European Social Dialogue on 8 November in Brussels.