Brussels, 07/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The key to success is to be ambitious, European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation and of Enterprises of General Economic Interest (CEEP) Secretary General Rainer Plassman has told heads of state and government meeting in Brussels for the summit on 8-9 March. Mr Plassman set out CEEP's two priorities: flexicurity and energy, which are the fuels that public companies run on.
In a letter to the president of the European Council Angela Merkel, Mr Plassman called on European leaders to focus on two elements of the social dimension of the Lisbon Strategy. (1) Flexicurity and adaptability to change for workers, companies and services. Every day CEEP members experience the challenge of maintaining the performance levels of public services. '“Modernisation of public services' means simply: 'Best services for citizens' money'. This is visible to all. But it is not widely understood that this challenge is accompanied by a range of opportunities,” Mr Plassman said, pointing out that many public services (notably health, social services and education) have been experiencing rapid employment growth, particularly in highly skilled jobs, in all member states. This trend, he went on, would continue for many years to come, especially in social services and health, as the population ages. (2) Energy policies. These are pillars for public employers, Mr Plassman said, and he warmly welcomed the Commission's energy package of 10 January 2007. (gb)