Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Common Actions for Growth and Employment : The Community Lisbon Programme [SEC(2005) 981]
Date: 2005-07-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, European Employment Strategy, action programme, deepening of the European Union, economic and social cohesion, economic policy, sustainable development

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 20.7.2005 
COM(2005) 330 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL  
AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Common Actions for Growth and Employment: 
The Community Lisbon Programme 

[SEC(2005) 981] 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL  
AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Common Actions for Growth and Employment: 
The Community Lisbon Programme 

1. 

A MESSAGE OF CONFIDENCE AND DETERMINATION 

The  message  at  the  heart  of  the  Lisbon  partnership  for  growth  and  employment  is  one  of 
confidence  and  determination:  the  challenges  facing  Europe’s  society,  economy  and 
environment are surmountable. If managed well they can be turned into new opportunities for 
Europe to grow and create more jobs. 

At  present,  Europe  finds  itself  at  a  crucial  crossroads  facing  both  internal  and  external 
challenges. On the one hand, Europe must address the challenge of ageing populations which 
in  the  long-run  will  result  in  a  considerable  shrinking  of  the  working-age  population  while 
increasing  the  share  of  retired  persons.  Unless  the  decline  in  the  size  of  the  workforce  is 
compensated  by  increases  in  labour  productivity,  potential  growth  will  drop  dramatically  to 
around  1%  by  2040,  which  is  only  half  of  the  current  level.  Such  a  decline  in  economic 
performance  together  with  a  rise  in  age-related  expenditures  would  put  the  European  social 
model  under  considerable  stress.  On  the  other  hand,  the  increased  pace  of  globalisation  has 
exposed  the  EU  economy  to  mounting  competition  from  abroad.  The  range  of  economic 
activities exposed to external competition has widened, now including the production of both 
high-tech  and  labour  intensive  goods  and  services.  R&D  investment  in  the  EU  has  become 
close to stagnation. If current trends continue, R&D investment will be at 2,2 % of GDP in 
2010, considerably lower than the agreed objective of 3%. Against this background important 
decisions need to be taken which will determine Europe’s economic and social future. 

On  2  February  2005,  the  Commission  proposed  a  new  start  for  the  Lisbon  Strategy 
focusing  the  European  Union’s  efforts  on  two  principal  tasks  –  delivering  stronger,  lasting 
growth and more and better jobs.1 The institutions of the European Union have begun to turn 
the  new  momentum  for  a  re-launch  into  concrete  action  since.  The  European  Council  of 
March,  as  well  as  the  European  Parliament  and  the  European  social  partners,  gave  full 
support to the Commission’s proposal to re-launch and refocus the Lisbon Strategy.  

The goal of the Lisbon partnership for growth and employment is to modernize our economy 
in  order  to  secure  our  unique  social  model  in  the  face  of  increasingly  global  markets, 
technological change, environmental pressures, and an ageing population. This strategy is also 
to be seen in the wider context of the sustainable development requirement that present needs 
have  to  be  met  without  compromising  the  ability  of  future  generations  to  meet  their  own 
needs.  

We  have  the  resources  to  sustain  our  high  living  standards,  but  we  need  to  take  action  to 
unlock  them.  Europe  will  need  to  invest  more  in  its  young  people,  education,  research  and 
innovation, so that we can provide our society with the assets and outlook to generate wealth 

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COM (2005) 24 of 2.2.2005 

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and provide security for every citizen. We will further open markets, cut red tape and invest in 
modern infrastructure so that our enterprises can grow, innovate and create new jobs. And we 
will  take  the  necessary  steps  to  develop  a  skilled  and  entrepreneurial  workforce  so  that  all 
Europeans  can  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  society  with  high  employment,  a  high  level  of  social 
protection and a healthy environment. All these steps will be taken against a background of 
sound macroeconomic policies. 

The goal itself is compelling, but the steps to get there need explaining. The challenges facing 
our  society  today  provoke  a  sense  of  uncertainty  and  pessimism  in  some  of  our  citizens. 
Social and economic progress often entails significant changes in the life of individuals, with 
risks as well as benefits. Citizen’s legitimate worries need to be taken seriously; the benefits 
of our new strategy to citizens’ daily lives need to be properly explained.. 

Boosting  growth  and  creating  jobs  are  the  keys  for  unlocking  the  resources  needed  to  meet 
our economic and social ambitions and are important to reach our environmental objectives. 
Recent public  debate has shown them  to be of immense importance to our citizens. The re-
launch  of  this  ambitious  project  aims  to  ensure  both.  Some  policy  actions  will  take  time  to 
show visible effects. Others will deliver early benefits. In all cases, they must be approached 
with a strong sense of urgency and collective responsibility. There is no time to lose.  

2. 

A MANDATE FOR ACTION 

One important element of the Lisbon re-launch is the overhaul of its governance structure to 
define more clearly the respective responsibilities at the national and the Community level in 
order to better match tasks and competences. The Commission must complement the efforts 
of Member States. As a consequence, policy actions at Community and Member-States level 
have been split into complementary but separate agendas.  

While  the  success  of  the  Lisbon  partnership  for  growth  and  employment  depends 
predominantly  on  the  Member  States  and  their  determination  to  introduce  the  necessary 
structural  reforms,  the  Community  dimension  of  the  strategy  contributes  essential  value 
added.  Indeed,  maximum  synergies  and  efficiency  can  only  be  achieved  if  national  reform 
measures  are  complemented  with  action  at  the  Community  level.  The  policy  measures 
presented  in  the  Community  Lisbon  Programme  all  offer  a  clear  value  added  because  of 
action  being  taken  or  coordinated  at  the  Community  level.  This  added  value  is  particularly 
obvious for Community policies related to internal market, to improvement of infrastructure 
and to creating better framework conditions for business. Much more stress must also be put 
on  policies  promoting  knowledge,  education  and  skills  in  order  to  strengthen  EU 
competitiveness and sustainable growth while ensuring social and territorial cohesion. 

The European Council in June endorsed the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs, which 
constitute  a  basis  for  Member  States’  national  programmes  for  growth  and  jobs.  The 
European  Council  also  invited  the  Commission  to  present,  as  a  counterpart  to  the  national 
programmes a “Community Lisbon Programme” covering all actions at Community level. 
This  programme  will  follow  the  structure  of  the  integrated  guidelines  for  growth  and  jobs. 
Policy measures proposed under this programme fall under three main areas: 

•  Knowledge and innovation for growth, 

•  Making Europe a more attractive place to invest and work, 

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•  Creating more and better jobs 

Progress  at  both  national  and  Community  level  will  be  reviewed  in  a  single  EU  Annual 
Progress  Report.  As  far  as  the  Community  level  is  concerned,  the  report  will  be  based  on 
regular  monitoring  of  the  actions  listed  in  this  Community  Lisbon  Programme.  The  EU 
Annual  Progress  Report  will  also  evaluate  the  implementation  of  Member  States’  national 
programmes.  On  the  basis  of  this  annual  assessment  the  Commission  will  identify,  if 
necessary,  further  actions  needed  at  the  Community  level  and  will  revise  the  Community 
Lisbon Programme accordingly. 

Despite the absence of an agreement on the financial perspectives for the years 2007-2013, 
the  Commission  counts  on  an  agreement  in  the  near  future,  and  urges  Member  States  to 
decide  on  adequate  financing  of  actions  relevant  to  competitiveness  for  growth  and 
employment.  

3. 

THE COMMUNITY LISBON PROGRAMME – AN AGENDA FOR GROWTH AND JOBS 

The design and implementation of macroeconomic, microeconomic and employment policies 
lies  primarily  with  Member  States  and  will  be  set  out  in  national  reform  programmes  this 
autumn. The Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs provide guidance for such policies. 

The  Community  contributes  to  the  overall  economic  and  employment  policy  agenda  by 
completing  the  internal  market  and  by  implementing  common  policies  and  activities  that 
support and complement national policies. It will in particular concentrate on a number of 
key actions with high value-added: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

the support of knowledge and innovation in Europe, 

the reform of the state aid policy, 

the  improvement  and  simplification  of  the  regulatory  framework  in  which  business 
operates, 

the completion of the Internal Market for services, 

the completion of an ambitious agreement in the Doha round, 

the removal of obstacles to physical, labour and academic mobility, 

the development of a common approach to economic migration, 

the support of efforts to deal with the social consequences of economic restructuring. 

The  full  list  of  measures  of  the  Community  Lisbon  Programme  is  annexed2,  setting  out 
measures  foreseen  in  the  regulatory  domain,  financial  instruments  and  proposals  for  policy 
development.  Efforts  to  raise  the  Union’s  growth  potential  need  to  be  undertaken  against  a 
background  of  sound  macroeconomic  policies.  The  recently  agreed  improvement  in  the 
implementation  of  the  Stability  and  Growth  Pact  will  help  achieve  better  macroeconomic 

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SEC(2005) 981 of 20.7.2005 

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stability in the EU, an essential element for delivering sustainable economic growth and job 
creation.  

The  Commission  has  proposed  that  programmes  supported  by  the  Structural  Funds  and 
Cohesion Fund target investments in knowledge, innovation and research capacities as well 
as  improved  education  and  vocational  training,  thus  equipping  workers  with  the  skills  to 
master change and take up new activities. They will contribute to improving the attractiveness 
of  Member  States,  regions  and  cities  through  support  for  economic  infrastructure.  Major 
infrastructure investment in transport, environment and energy is necessary in regions that are 
lagging behind, especially in the new Member States, in order to encourage growth and long-
term  convergence  with  the  rest  of  the  Union.  By  improving  accessibility,  efficient 
infrastructure networks are one of the preconditions for business growth and job creation in 
these areas. 

The new rural development fund will focus more specifically on the creation of growth and 
jobs  in  rural  areas,  while  protecting  and  enhancing  natural  resources.  Resources  will  be 
focussed on forward looking investments in people, innovation, know-how and capital in the 
farm and forestry sectors, take-up of ICT in rural areas and on creating more and better jobs 
through rural diversification, particularly for women and young people. 

The Commission has just presented a set of Community strategic guidelines for 2007-20133 
targeting  the  next  generation  of  cohesion  policy  and  rural  development  programmes 
more  on  growth  and  jobs.  The  guidelines  seek  to  align  cohesion  and  rural  development 
policy  closely  with  the  Lisbon  agenda  and  they  set  out  a  framework  to  ensure  that  the 
priorities –attractiveness of Europe as a place to invest and work, knowledge and innovation, 
and  more  and  better  jobs  for  all  –  are  reflected  in  operational  programmes  at  national  and 
regional level.  

The  horizontal  contribution  of  the  European  Investment  Bank  (EIB)  and  the  European 
Investment  Fund  (EIF)  in  terms  of  financing–  particularly  through  the  EIB’s  Innovation 
2010 Initiative - should also be emphasized. 

3.1. 

Knowledge and innovation– engines of sustainable growth 

Knowledge  is  a  critical  factor  with  which  Europe  can  preserve  its  international  competitive 
advantage.  It  is  by  pooling  resources  and  ensuring  a  competitive  environment  for  research 
based  on  excellence  that  the  EU  can  best  contribute  to  improve  the  research  potential  of 
Europe.  Greater  and  more  efficient  investment  in  knowledge  and  innovation  is  needed  in 
order to meet the overall EU target for research investment of 3% of GDP and to develop the 
capacities and the tools to make Europe more competitive, create jobs and ensure sustainable 
growth. While the main responsibility for encouraging higher and better investment lies with 
Member States, the Community will complement this effort from the Community budget to 
stimulate, organise and exploit all forms of EU-level co-operation in research, innovation and 
education. A combination of Community regulation and Community funding will serve to 
promote technological innovation and to attract people and capital into European research and 
into innovative business ventures.  

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COM(2005) 299 of 5.7.2005 and COM(2005) 304 of 5.7.2005 

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In the regulatory field, the Commission announced a comprehensive reform of state aid 
policy  to  promote  growth,  jobs  and  cohesion4.  A  number  of  revisions  are  foreseen  to 
facilitate the targeting of State aid towards supporting knowledge and innovation. The State 
Aid  Framework  for  R&D  will  be  revised  notably  to  increase  collaboration  between  public 
research  institutes  and  industry  and  may  be  extended  to  cover  new  provisions  to  support 
innovation,  especially  for  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs).  In  addition,  it  is 
foreseen that state support to young and innovative companies is facilitated, not only through 
direct  financial  support,  but  also  by  facilitating  access  to  risk  capital  funding.  Measures  in 
favour  of  a  supportive  environment  for  innovation,  including  aid  to  training,  mobility,  and 
clustering  may  also  benefit  from  more  flexible  provisions.  Altogether,  the  reform  will 
improve  the  general  conditions  for  innovation  in  a  simpler  administrative  framework  for 
Member  States.  Because  competitive  markets  remain  the  best  instrument  for  fostering 
innovation and knowledge, the new rules will ensure that state aid is granted only where spill-
overs for society are significant and competitive conditions are not distorted.  

With  regard  to  Community  funding,  the  Commission  proposed  two  major  spending 
programmes for the period 2007 to 2013, namely the Seventh Framework Programme for 
Research,  Technological  development  and  Demonstration  (RTD)  activities5  and  the 
Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme6. 

The  proposal  for  a  7th  RTD  Framework  Programme  addresses  the  promotion  of  excellence 
and  the  fragmentation  of  European  research  efforts,  the  free  movement  of  knowledge  and 
researchers,  Europe’s  weakness  in  exploiting  research  results,  and  the  promotion  of  R&D-
driven  regional  clusters.  The  activities  proposed  are  highly  relevant  to  industry’s  needs, 
benefiting  from  the  strategic  research  agendas  developed  by  industry-led  Technology 
Platforms.  They 
in  Information  and 
Communication  Technologies  (ICTs).  Furthermore,  the  initiative  “i2010  –  a  European 
information society for growth and employment” aims at supporting the production and use of 
these technologies as a key driver for social and economic development. 

increased  research  and 

innovation 

include 

The  RTD  Framework  Programme  introduces  a  new  and  more  ambitious  approach  to  large-
scale  public  private  partnerships  in  fields  of  major  interest  for  European  competitiveness. 
These  will  be  identified  through  dialogue  with  industry  -  in  particular  through  Joint 
Technology  Initiatives,  which  are  currently  envisaged  in  the  fields  of  innovative  medicine, 
nanoelectronics,  embedded  systems,  aeronautics  and  air  transport,  hydrogen  and  fuel  cells, 
and  global  monitoring  for  environment  and  security.7  It  also  introduces  a  new  risk-sharing 
mechanism to improve access to EIB loans. 

The RTD Framework Programme will pay particular attention to growth opportunities for 
SMEs,  helping  them  to  carry  out  or  outsource  research,  develop  new  technology-based 
products and markets, expand networks, exploit research results, acquire technological know-
how  and  train  their  employees  to  master  the  skills  of  change  –  and  thereby  create  more  of 
jobs.  

The  Competitiveness  and  Innovation  Framework  Programme  will  be  primarily  geared 
towards  SMEs  and  entrepreneurs.  By  improving  access  to  markets,  finance  and  support 

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COM(2005) 107 of 7.6.2005 
COM (2005) 119 of 6.4.2005 
COM (2005) 121 of 6.4.2005 
SEC (2005) 800 of 10.6.2005 

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services, it will support innovative businesses, promote the uptake of ICTs and environmental 
technologies, and facilitate their funding through risk capital. 

The  Trans-European  network  budget  lines  support  the  practical  application  of  RTD 
knowledge  and  innovation  programmes,  through  industrial  projects  which  should  help  to 
reduce congestion and increase productivity. The most important are Galileo (satellite-based 
radio  navigation  for  all  modes  of  transport),  ERTMS  (railways)  and  SESAME  (air  traffic 
control) and other Intelligent Transport Systems applications. 

There  is  significant  economic,  environmental  and  employment  potential  in  environmental, 
energy-efficient  and  renewable  energy  technologies.  The  Commission  will  therefore  step 
up  its  promotion  of  the  development  and  application  of  environmental  technologies  and  the 
uptake of eco-innovations, in particular through the Environmental Technologies Action Plan 
(ETAP)8.  Such  technologies  will  be  supported  by  increased  research  and  technology 
dissemination  efforts  on  the  one  hand,  and  through  public  and  private  investments  via  the 
Structural  Funds  and  the  European  Investment  Bank,  notably  to  promote  low-carbon 
technologies. 

Agreement on the Community Patent remains a vital element of the Union's commitment to 
promote  a  knowledge-driven,  innovative  economy.  The  Community  will  support  efforts  to 
maintain  a  strong  industrial  capacity  by  jointly  addressing  research,  regulatory  and 
financing  challenges  at  the  European  level  where,  for  reasons  of  scale  or  scope,  individual 
Member States cannot successfully tackle market and public-policy failures in isolation. 

3.2.  Making Europe a more attractive place to invest and work 

In  order  to  attract  more  investment,  generate  employment  and  accelerate  growth,  it  is 
important  to  facilitate  market-entry  within  sectors  and  between  Member  States.  The 
Community will therefore give top priority to the completion of the internal market and 
to improving the regulatory environment as the two most important policy levers to create 
jobs and improve Europe’s growth performance.  

Better regulation has a significant positive impact on the framework conditions for economic 
growth, employment and productivity. By improving the quality of legislation, it creates the 
right incentives for business, cutting unnecessary costs and removing obstacles to adaptation 
and  innovation.  The  measures  foreseen  in  the  ‘better  regulation’  initiatives  by  the 
Commission and the Council Presidencies need to be implemented rapidly. 

The Commission will continue its work mainly in three areas: 

•  New policy initiatives in the Commission Legislative and Work Programme, such as white 
papers,  legislative  proposals  and  expenditure  programmes,  will  all  be  subject  of  a  solid 
impact assessment.  

•  Thorough  screening  of  proposals  pending  before  the  Council/Parliament  will  lead 

potentially to modification, replacement or withdrawal of such proposals. 

•  Simplification  of  key  existing  legislation  will  be  pursued  and  a  new  phase  of  the 

simplification programme will be launched on the basis of sectoral action plans. 

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COM(2004) 38 of 28.1.2004 and COM(2005) 16 of 27.1.2005 

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Inefficient regulation, difficult market access and insufficient competitive pressure can inhibit 
innovation  in  sectors  with  high  growth  potential  and  reduce  benefits  to  consumers.  The 
Commission  therefore  has  launched  a  series  of  sectoral  reviews  to  identify  obstacles 
inhibiting growth and innovation in key sectors, with a particular view to SMEs. Moreover, 
the  Commission  will  outline  a  new  approach  to  taking  SME  concerns  into  account  when 
proposing Community legislation and policies.  

The  internal  market  for  services  must  be  made  fully  operational,  while  preserving  the 
European social model. The services sector has been responsible for almost all the new jobs 
created in the EU in the period 1997-2002. Services now account for 70% of EU value added. 
However, services only account for around 20% of intra-EU trade. The completion of a single 
market  in  services  should  lead  to  an  increase  in  the  GDP  level  by  0.6%  and  of  the 
employment  level  by 0.3% (up to 600.000 jobs) in the medium term. The Commission  will 
work constructively with the European Parliament, the Council and other stakeholders within 
the legislative process to secure a broad consensus on the amended Service Directive.  

The provision of effective and high quality Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI) is 
a key component of the European welfare state, is essential for ensuring social and territorial 
cohesion, and contributes to competitiveness. Following up on its 2004 White Paper on SGEI, 
the Commission will take initiatives to provide more guidance on this principle. 

The  full  integration  of  financial  markets  will  also  contribute  to  raising  output  and 
employment by allowing more efficient allocation of capital and creating better conditions for 
business finance. As the bulk of legislation has already been adopted, attention must now shift 
to implementation and consistent application of the rules. At the same time it is important that 
any remaining market-entry barriers are addressed. 

For the Single Market to work effectively, the free flow of goods, services and people requires 
adequate  and  sustainable  infrastructure,  which  in  turn  is  an  important  location  factor  for 
business  investment.  Community  funds  and  regulation  will  complement  national  efforts  to 
promote  the  interconnection,  interoperability  and  accessibility  of  national  networks.  The 
Union should step up its efforts to concentrate the support available from the TEN transport 
budget  line  and  other  Community  budgetary  and  financial  instruments  on  the  30  major 
transport priority axes and projects selected by the Decision on the Community Guidelines9. 
Member States must deliver on their commitments to begin work on 45 “quick start” cross-
border  projects  for  transport,  energy  and  broadband  networks,  R&D  and  innovation. 
European coordination on a project-by-project basis must be matched by a clear commitment 
on the part of the Member States concerned to launch a planning and financing process.  

In  order  to  overcome  the  obstacles  encountered  by  enterprises  operating  in  several  Member 
States due to the existence of different rules governing how companies are taxed in each of 
the  25  Member  States,  the  Commission  is  trying  to  achieve  an  agreement  on  a  common 
consolidated corporate tax base and its implementation. 

The  Community  is  committed  to  the  completion  of  an  ambitious  agreement  in  the  Doha 
round,  complemented  by  bilateral  and  regional  trade  agreements.  The  Commission  will 
continue  to  pursue  its  regulatory  and  administrative  dialogue  at  the  international  level, 
including bilateral aviation and maritime service agreements, as this is a means to ensure that 

9 

Decision of 29.4.2004 amending decision 1692/96/EC. 

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our standards are maintained and applied elsewhere. Furthermore, the Commission will drive 
forward its Strategy for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Third Countries in 
an effort to halt the increase in piracy and counterfeiting. A new initiative will also be launched 
to press for better market access to third countries’ procurement markets.  

3.3. 

Creating more and better jobs 

If  Europe  is  to  achieve  full  employment,  improve  quality  and  productivity  at  work  and 
strengthen  social  and  territorial  cohesion  it  must  attract  and  retain  more  people  in 
employment,  increase  labour  supply,  modernise  social  protection  systems,  improve  the 
adaptability  of  workers  and  enterprises  and  increase  investment  in  human  capital  through 
better education and skills. 

These objectives and priorities are also at the core of the recently launched Social Agenda10 
and  are  reflected  in  the  integrated  guidelines  for  growth  and  jobs.  While  the  main 
responsibility  for  employment,  social  protection,  education  and  training  policies  lies  with 
national  public  authorities,  the  Community  will  complement  their  efforts.  European  social 
partners will be invited to play a major role. 

The Community is committed to improving the anticipation and management of economic 
restructuring.  Restructuring  and  relocation  are  inevitable  consequences  of  economic 
progress  and  market  integration.  When  they  occur,  however,  they  may  have  destabilizing 
consequences  on  the  citizens  and  communities  affected.  In  such  cases,  all  available 
instruments should be mobilised to help those affected to master the changes and turn them 
into new opportunities, while providing adequate security and safety nets. In this respect, the 
Commission  will  follow-up  on  its  Communication  on  restructuring  and  employment11  on  a 
sectoral and regional basis. The Commission also believes it is important to establish a fund to 
help  people  and  regions  most  negatively  affected  by  the  process  of  economic  restructuring, 
and a reserve for unforeseen consequences of structural change. 

To  facilitate  occupational  and  geographic  mobility  and  open  up  the  employment 
opportunities  arising  from  a  pan-European  labour  market,  the  Community  will  remove 
obstacles to labour mobility. The Commission will follow up on the adoption of the Directive 
on the recognition of professional qualifications and will propose a European Qualifications 
Framework,  supporting  recognition  of  qualifications  and  competences  by  creating  the 
conditions  for  transparency  and  mutual  trust,  thus  facilitating  academic  and  professional 
mobility in a wider context than the regulated professions 

In order to tap the world’s human capital and mine its wealth of knowledge, the Commission 
will  work  towards  a  common  framework  for  managing  economic  migration  at  EU  level 
and  proposes  accelerated  admission  procedures  for  longer  term  stays  of  third  country 
researchers and the facilitation of uniform short-stay visas.  

To  raise  employment  and  productivity  and  strengthen  social  cohesion,  the  Community 
supports  and  supplements  Member  States’  efforts  in  the  domains  of  human  capital, 
education, vocational training, including a particular focus on integrating young people, as 
set  out  in  the  European  Youth  Pact12.  In  order  to  attract  and  keep  more  people  in 

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COM (2005) 33 of 9.02.2005 
COM (2005) 120 of 31.3.2005 
COM (2005) 206 of 30.05.2005 

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employment  the  Commission  will  assist  Member  States  in  developing  active  ageing 
strategies, including measures to increase healthy life years. To complement the activities of 
the  European  Social  Fund,  the  Commission  proposed  a  Lifelong  Learning  Programme  to 
support EU-wide activities and networking in this field. 

The Commission  intends to support  universities and providers of tertiary education in their 
efforts to contribute more fully to achieving the Lisbon goals, for example by mobilising all 
sources  of  EU  funding  for  their  modernisation,  and  by  strengthening  cooperation  under  the 
Education  and  Training  2010  programme  to  complement  the  Bologna  process.  The 
Commission  will  also  examine  the  establishment  of  a  European  Institute  of  Technology  in 
order to attract the very best minds and ideas from around the world. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

In  order  to  ensure  the  credibility  of  the  renewed  Lisbon  partnership  for  growth  and 
employment and to enlist the continued support of European citizens, action has to be taken 
immediately  to  achieve  visible  results.  In  particular,  measures  on  Community  level  should 
concentrate on key actions, such as the support of knowledge and innovation in Europe, the 
reform  of  the  state  aid  policy,  better  regulation,  the  Internal  Market  for  services,  the 
completion of the Doha round, the removal of obstacles to mobility, economic migration, and 
the social consequences of economic restructuring. It will also be essential to align cohesion 
and  rural  development  policy  more  closely  with  the  Lisbon  partnership  for  growth  and 
employment. The Commission calls on the other institutions of the European Union to make a 
concerted effort to deliver quickly on these policies.  

Synergies and complementarities between the Community Programme and the Member States 
reform programmes are key to the success of the renewed Lisbon strategy. In the spirit of the 
partnership for growth and jobs and in order to implement this Programme successfully, the 
European  Commission  will  work  closely  together  with  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council of Ministers and draw on the expertise of other EU institutions, such as the European 
Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and, in the financial field, the 
European Investment Bank. 

The Lisbon partnership requires a long-term communication strategy that not only keeps our 
citizens  informed,  but  engages  them  in  the  process.  The  main  thrust  of  our  communication 
efforts  must  be  at  national,  regional  and  local  levels.  This  is  why  there  must  be  close  and 
continual  coordination  with  national  governments,  parliaments,  regions,  cities  and  civil 
society. This will provide the democratic legitimisation of the strategy itself and the basis for 
it to succeed. 

We  have  entered  a  crucial  stage,  both  in  a  political  and  in  an  economic  sense.  We  expect 
Member  States  to  come  up  with  credible  and  ambitious  action  plans  to  make  Lisbon  work. 
Europe has to show the way. Europe has to show that it can choose. It has to substantiate its 
choices.  The  choices  need  to  be  ambitious  but  realistic.  By  showing  leadership  the 
Commission  can  stimulate  and  encourage  Member  States  to  do  the  same.  It  is  only  by  the 
combined  forces  of  the  Commission,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Member  States  that 
Europe can reach the ambitious goals set in the renewed Lisbon agenda. Now is the time to 
deliver. 

EN 

10 

   EN