A report on the working party's progress will be available by December 2000. In order to ensure maximum social inclusion, the Commission will, by June 2000, draw up an initiative for cooperation in this area. The Commission will issue a communication on the future direction of social policy, with the aim of reaching agreement on a European social agenda at the Nice European Council, which will be held under the French Presidency in December 2000. However, the European Council will guide and coordinate the process in order to ensure overall coherence and monitoring of progress towards the new strategic goal. The conclusions of the Lisbon European Council have brought a broadly positive response from all the main parties involved.
Stability is no longer the dominant feature.
Growth and employment are also being taken into account. However, ETUC is disappointed that a trade union proposal establishing a timetable for the reduction of unemployment was not included in the European Council's conclusions. It also notes that the second half of 2000, under the French Presidency, will be crucial for issues such as labour market modernisation and the extension of workers' rights to information and consultation, neither of which were mentioned at the Lisbon Council. Commentary This latest European Council devoted to employment differs slightly from its predecessors in a number of ways. First, it is the first of its kind to be explicitly linked to the development of new technology and to involve debates on how this rapid change can be used to raise employment levels.