Lisbon, 19/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - Relieved at having got rid of the institutional problem, the Lisbon Summit closed amid a feeling of general satisfaction on Friday 19 October. “We adopted the Lisbon Treaty yesterday and this morning we held a debate on the real challenges for the future,” Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates told the press. In Lisbon, we have “turned the page”, Commission President José Manuel Barroso agreed, and he felt that Friday had seen the start of the reform of the EU and its policies.
Heads of state and government, now keen to tackle the issues that matter to citizens, began discussions on the EU's ability to respond to the challenge of globalisation. There was “a confident attitude” prevailing in a Europe “sure of itself”, said the Portuguese Prime Minister. With the Lisbon strategy, the EU had the necessary tools to adapt to the permanent challenge of globalisation and ensure solidarity between citizens, said a recent text from the Commission entitled “European Interests: Meeting the Challenge of Globalisation” (see EUROPE 9515 and EUROPE Documents 2497). This communication informed the early exchanges at the European Council. The EU wants to be the world standard bearer in the debate on globalisation in three areas, said Socrates: remodelling international institutions, the links between globalisation, innovation and education and climate change. In December, the Commission will bring forward a more detailed annual report on progress in the Lisbon strategy, ahead of the Spring Summit in March 2008.
Discussing financial markets, the heads of state and government felt that economic fundamentals remained solid and restated their confidence in the European economy. They backed the four Ecofin Council priorities to bring an institutional response to the financial turmoil (see EUROPE 9519): increasing the transparency of financial markets, particularly financial institutions' exposure to risk; improving risk management, including liquidity risk; assessing the extent to which the precautionary supervisory framework had to be strengthened at European level; and the evaluation of the role of financial rating agencies in the ranking of complex financial instruments. The Portuguese presidency now intends to work on a statement on globalisation, which will be adopted at the European Council in December and will carry out consultations until then to put in place a group of the wise charged with reflection on the future of the EU.
A few weeks before the Bali conference (3-14 December), the EU confirmed that it will speak with one voice in calling for binding targets for reducing greenhouse gases post-2012. In Indonesia, the aim will be to draw up a roadmap, which will provide a general framework for negotiations based on shared principles so that an ambitious agreement can be reached in Copenhagen in 2009. (A.B.)