/dash receptionandaccommodationcanbeprovidedbytheMemberStates,anyfoodandclothingneeded
canbemadeavailableandpsychologicalormedicalassistancebeprovidedincaseofneed,
/dash anauthorityineveryMemberStateisassignedtobetheCommission’ssoleinterlocutorincarrying
outrefugeeprojects;
6. CallsontheCouncil,intheeventofasuddeninfluxofrefugeesordisplacedpersonsfromIraq,to
ensurethattheburdenonhumanresourcesissharedamongalltheMemberStates;
7. CallsontheCommissionandtheCounciltotakeallnecessarystepstoensurethat,ifneedbe,
internationalaidorganisationscanbegivenfinancialhelptotakecareofwarrefugeesinsafeareasofIraqorneighbouringcountries;
8. CallsontheCouncilpresidencyandtheCommissiontopersuadetheMemberStatestomakemore
intensiveuseoftheCommunityprogrammesAGISandARGO;considersthat,inparticular,involvementofthecandidatecountriesshouldbesteppedupintheinterestsofdevelopinguniformstandards;
9. Callsonthe Councilandthe Commissiontomakeevery endeavour toensure that, assoonas
possibleandonthebasisofidenticalstandards,jointexternalbordersecurityisprovidedatalltheUnion’sexternalbordersandthatunitsofborderguardsaremadeavailable,assoonaspossibleandattherequestoftheMemberStates,tobackupnationalborderguards;
*
**
10. InstructsitsPresidenttoforwardthisresolutiontotheCouncil,theCommissionandtheparlia-
mentsandgovernmentsoftheMemberStates.
P5_TA(2003)0127
OutcomeoftheEuropeanCouncil(Brussels,20/21March2003)
EuropeanParliamentresolutionontheoutcomeoftheEuropeanCouncil(Brussels,20/21March
2003)concerningtheLisbonstrategy
TheEuropeanParliament ,
/dash havingregardtothePresidencyConclusionsoftheBrusselsEuropeanCouncilof20/21March2003
concerningtheLisbonstrategyanditsimplementation,
/dash havingregardtotheLisbonEuropeanCouncilconclusionsof23/24March2000,theGöteborgEuro-
peanCouncilconclusionsof15/16June2001,theBarcelonaEuropeanCouncilconclusionsof15/16March2002andtheconclusionsof16September2002ontheoutcomeoftheWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopment,
/dash havingregardtotheTripartiteSocialSummitheldinBrusselspriortotheSpringEuropeanCouncil
on20March2003,
A. whereastheintendedpurposeoftheSpringEuropeanCouncilistotakestockofprogressinmeeting
thestrategicLisbongoal,whichhasfallenconsiderablybehindscheduleandrisksmissingmanyofthetargetdatessetinLisbon,
B. whereastheoutcomeofthewarinIraq,togetherwiththehumanitarianandreconstructionneeds,is
asyetunknown,andtheconsequencesfortheworldeconomyandthemultilateraltradingsystemhaveyettounfold,11.3.2004EN C62E/181 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Thursday27March2003
C. whereasitisofgreatimportanceforthenewMemberStatestobefullyintegratedinthemodern-
isationoftheEuropeaneconomic,socialandenvironmentalmodel,anditsstrategyforsustainabledevelopment,withrespecttotheimplementationoftheobjectivesandmechanismsoftheLisbonstrategy,
1. AgreeswiththeEuropeanCouncilthatpromotingsustainablegrowth,creatingmoreandbetterjobs,
competitiveness,andmodernisingtheEuropeansocialmodelmustremainfirmlyatthetopoftheUnion’s
agenda;notesthewayinwhichtheEuropeanCouncilhastakenstepstointroduceamoreoperational
approachtowardsachievingtheeconomic,socialandenvironmentalobjectivesfor2010,althoughthereremainsagapbetweenstrategicgoalsandconcreteactions;
2. Reiteratesthat,torestorecredibilitytotheLisbonstrategy,thismustbefollowedthroughbydeter-
minedaction,especiallybylargerMemberStates,toadvanceinparallelthefourpriorityobjectiveslaid
downbytheEuropeanCouncil,andwhichtheEuropeanParliamentcansupport;
3. ReiteratesitssupportfortheLisbonstrategy,andpointsoutthatmuchhastobedonetoensurethat
allprogrammingisdovetailedtogetherinawaywhichbringstheaccessioncountriesfullyintothecom-monendeavour;pointstotheneedtopaymoreattentiontothescoreboardofMemberStates’progressinfulfillingtheirLisbonagendacommitments,andthereforecallsforadetailedroadmapfromtheCommis-
sionbyOctober2003,indicatinghowtheagreedobjectiveswillbereachedby2010;
4. TakestheviewthatthecurrentEmploymentStrategy,asrecentlyreshapedtoincludethequalityof
jobsandtostriketherightbalancebetweenflexibilityandsecurity,isanefficientinstrumenttofosteremploymentin the European Union;believes, furthermore, that the EmploymentCommittee (EMCO),establishedinaccordancewithArticle130oftheECTreaty,isbestplacedtoassessemploymentissues;
5. Considers,therefore,thattherewasnoneedtocreateanewTaskForceonEmployment;callsonthe
Counciltolimittheremitofsuchataskforce,forexampletoidentifyingpracticalreformmeasurestobeaddressedwithoutdelay,andtoreporttotheEPaboutitswork;
6. StressesitscommitmenttotheStabilityandGrowthPact(SGP)andsupportstheintelligentand
flexibleapplicationofthePactinthewaysproposedbytheCommission,inparticularthestrongerempha-sisonoveralldebtlevelsofindividualMemberStates,takingintoaccountpublicinvestmentrequirements/dashespeciallywhenthoseinvestmentsareconsideredbytheCommissiontobeconsistentwiththeLisbonandStockholmstrategyand,forthatreason,ofcommoninterest;
7. EmphasisesthevitalimportanceofSMEsfortheeconomicfabricoftheMemberStatesandencour-
ages,accordingly,allmeasurestofosterentrepreneurshipintheEuropeanUnion;stresses,inthiscontext,theimportanceofimplementingrapidlytherecommendationsoftheEuropeanCharterforSmallEnter-prisesaswellastheActionPlanfor‘Simplifyingandimprovingtheregulatoryenvironment’;agreeswiththeCouncilthatallmajordraftlegislationshouldbesubjecttoacomprehensiveimpactassessmenttakingaccountofthethreepillarsoftheLisbonstrategyandconsideredseparatelybytheCompetitivenessCoun-cil;
8. ReiteratesitssupportfortheLisbonstrategy,butbelievesthattheopenmethodofcoordinationand
peerreviewarenotsufficientontheirowntobringaboutthedynamicstructuralchangesrequired;
9. Takesnoteoftheapplicationoftheopenmethodofcoordinationinsupportofresearchandinno-
vationpolicy,intheexpectationofseeingmoreconcreteevidenceofprogresstowardsthegoalofearm-arking3%ofGDPforR&Dandencouraginginnovativeandeffectivelinksbetweenresearchandnewbusiness opportunities; recognises that remedial action must be taken to create the conditionswhichensurethatourscientistsandinnovativecompaniesstayinEurope,drawingattentiontotheimportanceofbasicresearch,whichsuppliesthefundamentalscientificknowledgevitaltoinnovation;
10. FullyendorsestheEuropeanCouncil’scallforeffectiveapplicationbyMemberStatesoflegislation
alreadyagreed forstrengthening theinternalmarketandforconnectingEurope, inordertoestablishcertaintyandclarityforbusinessandinvestmentacrossEurope;thecreationofasignificantnumberofC62E/182 EN11.3.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Thursday27March2003
Europe-wideandnationalpublic-privatepartnershipinvestmentprojects(operatinginsuchareasasedu-
cationandtraining,lifelonglearning,research,environmentallyfriendlyproduction,informationandfron-tiertechnologies,telecommunications,energyandtransportationnetworks)willbeofgreatimportanceforthefutureoftheEuropeaneconomy;
11. Regretstheabsenceofconcreteprogressinthefieldofenvironmentalindicatorsforsoundassess-
ment of sustainable development, including the adoption of quantified sectoral environmental targets
withintheCardiffprocessandtheadoptionofamechanismtoevaluatetheimplementationoftheout-
comeoftheJohannesburgSummit;
12. EncouragesMemberStates,whencarryingouttheEU’sclimatechangepolicyaimedatimplement-
ingtheKyotoProtocol,tofollowthesameintegratedapproachadoptedatEUlevel;stronglysupportsthecallissuedbytheEuropeanCounciltootherparties,andespeciallytheRussianFederation,toratifytheKyotoProtocolassoonaspossible,asthiswillallowitsentryintoforce,andwelcomestheforthcomingvisittotheDumabyaspecificEPdelegationonthissubject;
13. Welcomestheagreementontheenergytaxdirectivewhichwillsetaminimumexcisedutylevelfor
oilproducts,gas,electricityandcoal;isdeeplyconcerned,however,thattheEuropeanCouncilhadtopostponeagainthefinalagreementonthetaxpackage;
14. Welcomesthe commitmentsonenvironmentalliability,greenhouse gasemissionreductionand
intelligent energy; urges the Council again, however, to promote the removal of subsidies that havenegativeeffectsontheenvironmentandtotakestepstodevelopanambitiousEUplanforthedevel-opmentofcleantechnologies;
15. Pointsoutthatthefightagainstpovertyandsocialexclusionisavitalobjectiveoftheintegrated
strategyandinsistsitisessentialtocoordinateeffortstoimproveandsafeguardsocialprotectionsystemsorganisedandfinancedinaccordancewithhighsocialprinciplesandstandards;welcomestheEuropeanCouncil’scommitmenttokeepupthemomentumofpensionreformbyMemberStates,giventheinter-actionbetweenpensionreform,employmentpolicy,soundpublicfinancesandsocialcohesion;
16. Inthecontextofeducation,drawsattentiontotheemphasisoneducationandvocationaltraining
forenhancingskills,languages,digitalliteracyandlifelonglearning;thecommitmentsmustbematchedbyconcretemeasuresthroughtheSkillsandMobilityActionPlan,theEuropeanStructuralFundsandotherprogrammesthatmaybeproposed,togetherwiththerapidreformofRegulation(EEC)No1408/71(
1)on
theapplicationofsocialsecurityschemes;
17. WelcomestheEuropeanCouncil’sfirmstatementontheneedforconcretemeasurestospeedup
reformsoftaxandbenefitsystemsandofthelabourmarket,especiallybyimprovingwageformulationsystems,modernisingemploymentlegislationandintegratingunderemployedsectionsofthepopulationwhichsufferdiscrimination,asdefinedunderArticle13oftheECTreaty,whichcoversgender,disability,race,age,religionandsexualorientation,andinvitestheCommissionandtheCounciltodeveloptheseideasfurther;callsontheMemberStatesfullytoimplementDirective2002/73/EC(
2);
18. WelcomestheformalestablishmentoftheTripartiteSocialSummitpriortotheSpringEuropean
Council,sincethesocialpartnerscanplayanimportantroleinimplementingtheLisbonagenda,forexampleintheareasoflifelonglearningandinvestmentinhumancapital;underlinesthatthisrolemustbestrengthened;reiteratesthecontributionmadebythevoluntarysectorandnon-standardformsofbusi-nessorganisationtoincreasingemploymentanddeliveringotherpublicpolicyobjectives;
19. InstructsitsPresidenttoforwardthisresolutiontotheCouncil,theCommission,thegovernments
andparliamentsoftheMemberStatesandaccessioncountriesandthesocialpartners.
(1) OJL149,5.7.1971,p.2.
(2) EuropeanParliamentandCouncilDirective2002/73/ECof23September2002amendingCouncilDirective76/
207/EEContheimplementationoftheprincipleofequaltreatmentformenandwomenasregardsaccessto
employment,vocationaltrainingandpromotion,andworkingconditions(OJL269,5.10.2002,p.15).11.3.2004EN C62E/183 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Thursday27March2003