European Parliament resolution on the preparation of the spring summit 2004
Date: 2004-02-26
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU employment policy, EU environmental policy, EU industrial policy, European Council, coordination of EMU policies, environmental monitoring

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H. whereas its Rules of Procedure provide for it to review respect for the principles of subsidiarity and

proportionality,

Recalls that the principle of subsidiarity aims to ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible

1.
to the Union’s citizens;

Is convinced that the principle entails a form of scrutiny as to whether the reach of Community

2.
action into the domain of the Member States is justified;

3.
Recalls that the principle of subsidiarity should also serve to encourage Union intervention in sectors
which do not fall within its exclusive competence if, and to the extent that, the objectives of the planned
action cannot be adequately achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Com-
munity level;

Stresses that ex-ante and ex-post examination of this multifaceted principle is of utmost importance

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within the context of the Union dynamics;

5. Welcomes the work of the Convention on subsidiarity and proportionality;

6.
Supports the early warning system involving national parliaments proposed in the draft Constitution
and believes that, where appropriate, the system should be extended to other legislative parliaments and
assemblies within the Member States;

7.
Urges the Member States accordingly to adopt procedures that allow national parliaments, and,
where appropriate, other legislative parliaments and assemblies within Member States to be involved in
the legislative procedure;

8.

Regrets that the 2002 report focused solely on the main policy objectives for 2002;

Emphasises that the relevance of the Commission’s choices is also to be examined in the light of
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other political actions relevant to the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, and
that they should be addressed in future reports;

10.
Recognises that other aspects of lawmaking explored in the report (such as legal drafting, simplifi-
cation or codification) are also important and interesting, but asks again that the Commission focus more
closely on the raison d’être of the report, in order to produce a clear, relevant and meaningful review of
how and with what measure of success the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality have been applied
by the Community;

11.
Considers that the report’s new focus should therefore result in the Commission concentrating on
the truly European issues assigned to it by the Treaties and refraining from intervening in fields which are
clearly better dealt with by levels of government closer to citizens, while indicating which fields it con-
siders more appropriate for the adoption of laws at national level;

12.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

P5_TA(2004)0114

Spring Summit: follow-up to Lisbon

European Parliament resolution on the preparation of the spring summit 2004

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council of 23/24 March 2000,

(cid:1) having regard to the conclusions of the Nice European Council of 7, 8 and 9 December 2000,

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(cid:1) having regard to the Commission communication on the social policy agenda (COM(2000) 379),

Thursday 26 February 2004

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 37(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the Lisbon European Council agreed on the strategic goal of making the EU the most com-
petitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world with equal goals of sustainable growth,
full employment, reduced poverty and greater social cohesion,

B. whereas the global downward economic trends, the EU’s demographic challenge and the coexistence
in the EU of high unemployment and labour shortages require even stronger efforts to implement the
Lisbon aim of more and better jobs,

C. whereas the goals of the Lisbon European Council will be missed if the current trends do not improve

to a large extent,

Economic and monetary aspects

1.
Emphasises that the Lisbon and Göteborg strategy is Europe’s best comprehensive means to address
its economic, demographic, employment and environmental challenges in order to become the most com-
petitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth
with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion;

Points to the need for massive investment in renewable energies, energy saving and energy-efficiency
2.
measures, which will pay off in the mid-term by reducing Europe’s energy bill, increasing security of
supply and, not least, producing a ‘double dividend’ of job creation and a better environment with a
particular view to combating climate change;

Calls, in the context of the imminent enlargement of the EU and the urgent need for economic

3.
recovery in Europe, for:

(cid:1) sound and effective coordination of Member States’ macroeconomic policies within the broad econ-
omic policy guidelines (BEPGs) in order to implement the Lisbon and Göteborg agenda and achieve its
strategic goals;

(cid:1) coherence and consistency between, as well as full and speedy implementation of, the various econ-
omic tools of the EU’s Lisbon strategy, such as the 2003-2005 BEPGs, the 2003-2005 European
employment guidelines, the European Growth Initiative and the Sixth framework programme on
research, within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact;

(cid:1) the acceleration of all necessary reforms to create a regulatory climate conducive to investment,

research and development, entrepreneurship and job creation;

Urges Member States to include in their fiscal policies an overall strategy based on increased invest-
4.
ments in human resources, innovation, research and development, with a special focus on education, skills,
lifelong learning, renewable energy and environmentally friendly technology; highlights that this strategy
should be undertaken in a context of sustainable public finance; welcomes the European Growth Initiative
as a catalyst to speed up the implementation of the Lisbon strategy, and as a long-awaited signal aimed at
boosting confidence, and moreover recalls the essential role of private investment to increase productivity,
growth and employment;

Is convinced that an intelligent reform of the Stability and Growth Pact is needed to ring Europe’s

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economy more swiftly back into balance;

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6.

Underlines the need for concrete measures to implement the Lisbon Strategy and thus:

(cid:1) recalls the role of coordination and proposes an increased monitoring role for the Commission;

(cid:1) considers it appropriate that the EcoFin Council should include not only EU Finance Ministers, but
also Ministers responsible for macroeconomic issues where these two functions are not held by the
same government member;

(cid:1) encourages intensified cooperation and information exchange at the level of the specific national

ministries and agents involved in the implementation of the Lisbon strategy;

7.
Expresses its concern about the serious democratic deficit found in the current procedures in place
for economic and social policy coordination, and as a remedy to this, invites all national parliaments
actively to support the Lisbon strategy;

Industrial aspects

8.
Considers that the European Council must put a twin emphasis on employment and on global
competitiveness, stressing that competitiveness is not only a matter of cost-cutting by companies but also
of ensuring that European industries operate in framework conditions, including better company law and
corporate governance, that favour enterprise and adaptability;

Calls on Member States (1 %) and the private sector (2 %) to increase their investment for the future
9.
so as to raise R & D spending to 3 % of GNP by 2010; calls on Member States to submit credible national
implementation plans, together with initial results by mid-2004;

Calls on the Commission to vigorously pursue infringement proceedings against those Member
10.
States which fail to implement EC legislation on time,
including the new regulatory framework for
electronic communications in all Member States; considers stepped-up implementation necessary for
transposition of the e-Europe action plan, not least in order to make broadband networks available at
competitive prices;

11.
Approves an approach oriented to fundamental research; approves, consequently, the establishment
of a European Research Council and its adequate financing; supports the inclusion of questions of edu-
cation, training and qualifications in industrial policy;

Calls on Member States, when they introduce necessary reforms in the legal, financial and taxation
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framework, to do so in ways which will enable SMEs to contribute towards the achievement of the Lisbon
objectives and to take stock of the first three years of application of the Charter for Small Enterprises;
more generally demands that the commitments made by Member States in the European Charter for Small
Enterprises be met without delay; approves the creation of a European Innovation Area by means of, inter
alia, regional SME networks; considers it vital to facilitate access to risk capital for SMEs; would like to see
the establishment of favourable tax arrangements for the transfer of ownership of SMEs;

Supports a consolidated European approach, based on improving competitiveness,

towards
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high-tech sectors such as civil aeronautics, defence and space (e.g. Galileo), nanotechnology, mobile com-
munications, renewable energy sources, clean coal and health; as regards industrial sectors facing decline,
suggests that the Commission should establish criteria for identifying sectors where action will be needed
by firms to discover new market opportunities, to manage change and to improve their competitiveness,
with the constructive involvement of employees;

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14. Welcomes the deployment of the Structural Funds to assist with infrastructure investments, R & D
and innovation; assigns major importance for the operation of the internal market in energy to the com-
pletion of trans-European energy networks; considers that the development of combined heat and power
systems will assist with opening up the energy market to competition and transposing the commitments
assumed in Kyoto;

15.
Calls for accelerated transposition of the European biotechnology strategy; regrets the delayed trans-
position of Directive 98/44/EC (1) on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions by Member States;
calls on the Council to resolve outstanding questions relating to the regulation on the Community Patent
without delay;

Employment aspects

16.
Reaffirms the relevance of the Lisbon strategy; sees therefore the need to speed up the implemen-
tation of the Lisbon agenda for closer coordination of EU and Member States’ economic, employment,
social and structural policies and stresses the necessity of structural reforms with a clear roadmap and
strict deadlines;

Requests that the Lisbon policy mix be reinforced through concrete measures to boost growth and
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job creation; welcomes the enhanced synchronisation of the coordination processes but is concerned that
the employment and social inclusion elements do not play a prominent role;

18. Welcomes the simplification of the Employment Guidelines; strongly agrees on the need to raise
participation and integration in the labour market, in particular of older workers, vulnerable groups and
women through active ageing measures and better work-life balance; calls on the Commission to monitor
closely the implementation of the two EU directives to combat discrimination in daily life and in the work
place based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;

Points out that reforms have to result in better jobs, in order to create a knowledge-based economy,
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and must be achieved in close cooperation with the social partners, without reducing the individual and
collective rights of employees; reforms must also ensure a better balance between flexibility and security,
for example by a better matching of labour supply and demand and by making work pay; emphasises the
need for more public and private investment in human capital, such as higher education, skills and voca-
tional training; expects the political consensus on the economic and social need for life-long learning to be
turned into practical measures;

20. Welcomes the report by the Employment Task Force of November 2003, including its country-
specific approach with recommendations for all 25 countries, and underlines its key requirements to
boost productivity and employment in Europe; also welcomes the approach in the recent Commission
Communication on immigration, integration and employment (COM(2003) 336), which links the Lisbon
strategy, the demographic deficit and the need for better managed immigration policies;

21.
Regrets the lack of commitment and political will by Member States and urges the Commission and
the Member States to implement the Social Policy Agenda in full, using all the available instruments and
respecting the parties responsible and the time frames envisaged; reiterates its calls for specific national
targets to implement and monitor Member States’ performances in transposing the European strategy;
insists on involving parliaments within Member States, the social partners and all relevant actors;

(1) OJ L 213, 30.7.1998, p. 13.

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22.
Considers that social dialogue must be fostered and strengthened as a key factor in meeting the EU’s
social and labour market challenges and as a key part of developing a more proactive macroeconomic
dialogue with mutually-supportive economic, social and employment policies;

23. Welcomes the Commission’s intention to focus on the implementation of the social acquis; calls on
the Commission to strengthen employment and social policies and tools after EU enlargement, including
the monitoring of the implementation of both the acquis and the open coordination methods for employ-
ment, social inclusion and social protection, as well as the development of social dialogue; calls on the
Commission and the Council to strengthen enforcement and practical implementation of the EU health
and safety acquis;

24.
Agrees on the need to remove the legal and administrative obstacles to mobility, but stresses again
the need for the Commission to consult the social partners, including in the new Member States, to lay
down European minimum standards on labour law and social security for ‘permanently’ mobile workers, in
order to avoid unfair competition based on wages and conditions;

Environmental aspects

25.
Opposes the reduction in the number of indicators by comparison with the list adopted for the
purposes of the 2003 Spring European Council and which are drastically reduced in the Commission’s
Communication on Structural Indicators (COM(2003) 585) to review progress and implementation of the
Lisbon and Göteborg strategies, and urges the Council to take into account biodiversity indicators in order
to be able to assess the attainment of EU commitments made in Decision No 1600/2002/EC (1) laying
down the Sixth Environmental Action Programme (6EAP) to halt biodiversity loss by the year 2010 in
the EU, and in the Plan of Implementation adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development by
2015 globally; is concerned, moreover, that the plan to establish the indicators for a period of three years
does not guarantee sufficient flexibility to take into account new facts, policy revisions (e.g. Sustainable
Development Strategy in 2004) or the time that new policies take before an impact can be observed;

26.
Further considers that the use of indicators should be linked, wherever feasible, to clear targets and
long-term timetables for the implementation of priority objectives, and should be appropriately coor-
dinated with the 6EAP;

Calls for annual

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indicators to be established for all areas of activity identified in the Göteborg
Sustainable Development Strategy, since that is the only way of measuring the progress made towards
the targets laid down in that strategy;

28.
Calls on the Commission, pursuant to the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural
Resources laid down in the 6EAP, to identify and propose the action which must be taken in order to
ensure that natural resources are used in an efficient and sustainable fashion; believes that in order to
comply with the Göteborg conclusions regarding natural resource use, it is vital that the decoupling of
economic growth from increased use of resources be promoted and encouraged to the greatest possible
extent, and urges the Council to call on the Commission to ensure that all relevant pieces of legislation
provide for maximum efficiency in the use of natural resources;

29.
Recalls Decision No 1600/2002/EC, in which the Commission is called upon to establish a list of
subsidies which are incompatible with sustainable development and to put forward, as a matter of urgency,
appropriate proposals for eliminating them; regrets that despite the conclusions of the Spring European
Council in 2003 Ecofin has not come up with measures to reduce those subsidies that have considerable
negative effects on the environment;

(1) OJ L 242, 10.9.2002, p. 1.

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30. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative for an annual Environment Policy Review which will also
contribute to the preparation of Spring European Councils, expresses its concerns, however, over the
proposal on ‘a new approach to implementation’, and reminds the Council that compliance with Com-
munity legislation and the appropriate transposition thereof in accordance with the subsidiarity principle
are an essential part of the EU’s sustainable development strategy;

31.
Calls on the Commission to organise a stakeholder conference on the effectiveness of the Göteborg
Sustainable Development Strategy, so as to be able to take stock of the experience gained, and to enable
the new Commission to adopt an ambitious strategy for its mandate;

32.
Calls on the European Council to ensure that the EU budget is used to promote sustainability and
therefore to carry out Sustainability Impact Assessments on all EU expenditure, including the Common
Agricultural Policy, the Structural Funds, and the research programmes in an open and transparent
manner;

33.
Stresses that the EU must ensure that the Millennium Development Goals and the Johannesburg
commitments are taken into account in its own activities, and further reiterates its demand for the Euro-
pean Council to report back on the implementation of the Johannesburg process in the context of its
Spring synthesis report;

34.
Supports the aims of the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition for the promotion of renewable
energies; calls on the Commission to initiate the adoption of a calendar for ambitious renewable energy
targets within the Coalition;

Final considerations

35.
Invites the 2004 Spring European Council to engage in a real dialogue with the European Parlia-
ment to relaunch the Lisbon strategy and therefore calls for the European Parliament’s role in preparing
the annual Spring European Council to be defined;

36.
Emphasises the need to involve fully the European Parliament so that the open coordination
method has greater democratic legitimacy and so that the Lisbon follow-up is not purely intergovernmen-
tal;

*

*

*

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the govern-

37.
ments and parliaments of the Member States.

P5_TA(2004)0115

Failure to consult Parliament in connection with the TEN Quick Start projects

European Parliament resolution on the failure to consult Parliament in connection with the TEN
Quick Start projects

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 42(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

Disapproves of the Council’s having developed a so-called Quick Start Programme on trans-European

1.
transport priority projects without consulting the European Parliament;