Annual Spring Summit Reviews Employment Progress

By Euroline Observer

The annual spring European Council meeting on economic, social and environmental issues was held in Brussels in March 2003, and reviewed the progress of EU policy in these areas

Although the Council set no new employment targets, it decided to establish a European employment taskforce.

The Lisbon Council of March 2000 ( EU0004241F) agreed a 10-year strategy to make Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world and set concrete targets in the area of employment levels, to be reached by 2010; the Stockholm Council of March 2001 ( EU0104208F) added to these targets and set a number of intermediate employment targets; and the Barcelona Council of March 2002 ( EU0203205F) added a number of further targets.

The Council in 2003 identifies the following priorities:

· raising employment and social cohesion. Far-reaching structural reform will be necessary in order to achieve full employment, higher productivity and better quality in work. Labour markets need to become more inclusive and Member States must increase labour market participation by introducing more reforms to tax and benefits;

· giving priority to innovation and entrepreneurship. More needs to be done to turn ideas into concrete developments. Research and development must be boosted so that the EU can meet its target of research and development investment of almost 3% of GDP;

· strengthening the internal market. European markets need to be opened up and integrated, in tandem with improvements to the regulatory framework. The integration of, and greater 'connectivity' in, industries such as energy, transport and telecommunications must also be pursued; and

· environmental protection. Fulfilling economic potential must go hand in hand with improvements in the environment and the quality of life, a factor which can also contribute to increasing employment.