WRITTEN QUESTION E-2925/03 by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission. European productivity pact.
Date: 2003-10-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU growth strategy, EU policy, economic growth, production policy, productivity, structural policy

20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70 E/163

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2003)

As the Honourable Member will no doubt be aware, the President of the Commission was publicly stating
the position taken by the Laeken Summit in December 2001, which was reiterated by the Council (Foreign
Affairs) on 28 January 2002 in the following words: ‘Israel needs the Palestinian Authority and its elected
President, Yasser Arafat, as a partner to negotiate with, both in order to eradicate terrorism and to work
towards peace’.

(2004/C 70 E/172)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2915/03

by Francesco Speroni (NI) to the Commission

(29 September 2003)

Subject: Prodi’s partiality during the referendum campaign in Sweden

Why, in the course of the recent referendum campaign in Sweden, did Romano Prodi, the President of the
Commission, come down clearly in favour of that country’s accession to the euro, adopting a partial stance
with scant regard for the sovereign will of the Swedish people, whose task it was to choose between two
alternatives which were both compatible with Union law?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2003)

At Parliament’s part session on 16 January, the President of the Commission stated that ‘for millions of
European citizens, the euro notes and coins in their pockets are a tangible sign of the great political project
of building a united Europe. As a symbol of that unity, the euro is having an even greater psychological
impact than the abolition of passport controls at Europe’s internal borders. The euro is thus becoming a
key element in people’s sense of a shared European identity and a common destiny, just as it is tangible
evidence that European integration is now irreversible. (…) We must take this as a valuable lesson and
apply it in the preparations for all stages in the process of integration’.

There was no reason to change this well-known position of the entire Commission during the referendum
campaign for the adoption of the euro in Sweden.

(2004/C 70 E/173)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2925/03

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 October 2003)

Subject: European productivity pact

Historically, Europe and Spain have ranked low on productivity, one of the principal reasons being the
absence of any large-scale application of new technology to production processes, unlike the USA, which
according to the ILO, is the world’s most productive country, with average growth running at 2,2 % for the
last seven years.

Europe clearly needs to learn its lesson, and deal with its productivity deficit, something which requires an
intra-Community pact at European level to boost Europe’s low productivity rates.

Does the Commission believe that following the success of the Economic Stability Pact, it should now put
forward a European productivity pact, with a view to making up lost ground vis-à-vis the USA, and enable
the Old World to catch up with the productivity rates of the US economy?

C 70 E/164

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.3.2004

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(4 November 2003)

The Commission agrees with the assessment that (cid:1) contrary to the United States in the second half of the
1990s (cid:1) the Union has failed to create jobs and raise labour productivity growth at the same time.
In recent years, the Union has succeeded in raising the employment rate, while, in contrast to the United
States, labour productivity growth has slowed down.

In view of the Union’s lagging performance in the second half of the 1990s, the Lisbon European Council
of March 2000 set the goal for the Union to become within a decade the most competitive and dynamic
knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs
and greater social cohesion. The European Council has also agreed a structural reform agenda, which is
known as the Lisbon Strategy.

Since then, the European Council has met annually to assess progress on the ‘Lisbon Strategy’ and to
identify priorities for action. The recent ‘Growth Initiative’ by the Italian presidency and the Commission
has identified accelerating structural reforms and promoting investment in infrastructure and human
capital as key priorities for improving the growth performance of the Union economy. In this sense,
a European productivity pact is already operational.

(2004/C 70 E/174)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2928/03

by Proinsias De Rossa (PSE) to the Commission

(6 October 2003)

Subject: European Spatial Development Perspective and the SRUNA Project

In June 2000, the Sustainable Recreational Use of Natural Assets (SRUNA) project, which examined
methods of planning for sustainable recreation in natural amenity areas in Dublin and Mid-East regions
and which was funded by the EU TERRA programme, was completed.

How have the recommendations of the SRUNA project been incorporated into the follow-up to the
European Spatial Development Perspective?

What current (or planned) EU-funded programmes and initiatives would be of relevance in relation to the
implementation of the SRUNA recommendations?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(25 November 2003)

The programme TERRA was launched in 1997 in the context of the innovative actions financed by the
Article 10 of
It concerned 15 experimental,
transnational and interregional innovative pilot projects in the field of spatial planning throughout Europe,
one of which was the project SRUNA (Sustainable Recreational Use of Natural Assets).

the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

A total of EUR 40 million (of which EUR 20 million from the ERDF) was earmarked for the TERRA
programme. TERRA was conceived as a laboratory for testing new approaches to, and methodologies for,
spatial planning. In addition, TERRA (cid:1) together with the Interreg IIC programmes (cid:1) aimed to contribute
to the assessment of the relevance of the policy options proposed by the European Spatial Development
Perspective (ESDP).