José Manuel BARROSO
President of the European Commission

Helping Europe to change

European Economic and Social Committee - Presentation of the Commission's proposals for a 5 year strategy and 2005 legislative and work programme
Brussels, 10 February 2005

Madame President,

Honourable Members,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On 26 January, the Commission set out proposals for Strategic Objectives for the Union during the coming 5 years. These proposals respond to the expectations and needs of people in Europe and can bring about a far-reaching transformation of our continent by the end of the decade.

These objectives represent a basis for common agreement at EU level between the Council and the European Parliament on the direction in which our Union should move. But turning these objectives into action and results means forging a new, dynamic Partnership for European Renewal. This is at the heart of the message that I share with you today.

Let me explain why we need a Partnership?

At a time when the Union is perceived to be too remote from our fellow citizens' concerns, we need to show that we can act together and deliver results.

However, the complexity of the challenges we face from the economy, to the renewal of welfare systems or ensuring quality of our food and our environment means that no single Institution, Member State or group acting on its own can provide a response.

The challenges we face do not stop at national borders, so neither should the solutions or the added value that Europe can bring.

Who should be involved in this partnership? To offer solutions that work, we need to harness the creative capacity of Europe's institutions and its Member States.

But that alone will not guarantee success. Our partnership must therefore reach beyond our Ministries and capitals to capture the imagination of Europe's homes, schools and factories.

We can only do this by rallying our Social Partners and civil society behind the idea of European renewal.

Let me mention three examples of where the first effects of that renewal must be felt:

• First, the adoption of the Constitution is critical to the democracy, transparency and effectiveness of the EU: we need to work together with the Member States and with civil society to make the case for the Constitution.
• Second, the EU needs sufficient resources to match both existing promises and its ambition for the future. This depends on an early agreement on the future budgetary arrangements for the Union - the so-called "financial perspectives" - for the period 2007-2013.

  The Commission's has made proposals that offer a balanced package and which recognise that you cannot have more Europe for less money.

  Our approach reconciles building on well-established policies, such as cohesion, with support for investment to drive growth and jobs.

  This is not spending for the sake of it. This is spending when the EU budget is the best, most cost-effective way to meet our citizens' expectations.

• Third, our success depends on mobilising wider support from citizens and civil society around the European project; better communication, more openness and early consultation should therefore be the basic building blocks of our approach. People must feel they have a stake in Europe and can influence the policies it makes.

The challenges ahead may be familiar, but we need to tackle them with renewed energy and fresh determination.

This cannot be confined to the "Brussels beltway": we must be able to reach out to our citizens; reconnect with them; work for and with them.

The European Economic and Social Committee has an important role to play, as a bridge between Europe and the organised Civil Society.

This is why why I came here today to ask you for your full commitment to this partnership.

Madame President, Honourable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Strategic Objectives distil Europe's hopes into three key goals: prosperity, solidarity and security. Each of them also has a link with the world around us.

That is why we also need a stronger voice for the Union in the world.

First objective is prosperity

The immediate priority should be prosperity. This is not because it is a goal in itself, but because a dynamic economy is the cornerstone on which our model of social solidarity and sustainability is built.

Indeed, we must not lose sight of our over-arching goal of sustainable development - an issue which I know is dear to the heart of this committee.

But sustainable development remains our overarching goal...

The Constitution lays down sustainable development as the framework for all EU policies by challenging us: "to work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress, and a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment".

However, declining growth and persistently high unemployment levels means that a first step towards achieving sustainable development must be to restore growth and create more and better jobs.

A strategy for growth and jobs

Last Wednesday, the Commission presented its proposal for the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy.

The starting point is the need to inject a fresh sense of urgency and to overcome inadequate implementation and a lack of ownership.

Our approach builds on stable macro-economic foundations to push ahead with ambitious reforms at EU and national level designed to:

• Make the Union a more attractive place to work and invest.
• Put knowledge and innovation at the centre of growth and job creation
• Create conditions in which EU businesses create more and better jobs - from the largest industrial players to the smallest entrepreneurs.

Lisbon is a shared agenda par excellence and therefore a first practical test of our partnership approach. Together the European institutions should identify priorities, Member States should commit to them through national Lisbon Action Programmes, and the Social Partners have been asked to identify the contribution before the spring meeting of the European Council.

This Committee too should play its role, both in formally reacting to our proposals and in helping to make our strategy for growth and jobs part of national political debate.

Second objective is solidarity

Another strategic objective is Solidarity. It is a key principle of the Union.

Cohesion must remain at the heart of how the Union works - in the wake of enlargement; it would be perverse to retreat from our obligations. We must narrow disparities between the rich and the poor in Europe and help disadvantaged areas and groups through revised and growth-oriented Cohesion policies. The key to this, of course, will come through an agreement on the Financial Perspectives.

Solidarity is also about preserving and developing the environment. Yesterday, the Commission adopted important decisions to foster solidarity, in ways which help to secure long-term, lasting growth:

1. A revised European Social Agenda which paints a picture of "a social Europe in the global economy" which can offer jobs and opportunities for everyone. The Agenda shows the Commission's full commitment to updating and developing Europe's social systems, as well as to the promotion of social cohesion. It highlights the role of partnership in securing results.
2. A Communication on Sustainable Development: This provides a first step in the on-going review of the existing EU Sustainable Development Strategy.

• This stock-taking report ahead of the Spring European Council reviews progress and lays down markers for a future EU's approach. That approach must:
• Maintain a broad vision of what is meant by sustainability;
• Ensure that in shaping policy, sustainability is a core consideration. This means improving our assessment of the long-term impact of our proposals;
• Tackle unsustainable trends from climate change and threats to public health to how we deal with our ageing societies; and
• Better integrate the internal and external actions to promote sustainable outcomes around the globe.
• In this context, I warmly welcome the active role of the Committee through the Stakeholders Forum it is organising on 14 and 15 April of this year.

1. A Climate Change Communication: with the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, we must accelerate efforts to combat climate change and ensure that scarce resources are used responsibly.

Lastly, solidarity also means promoting and defending the common values that bind us together; values such as the respect for fundamental rights; fighting against discrimination and for gender equality; and protecting and promoting the Union's rich cultural diversity. These are the foundations for a society based on mutual understanding and dignity.

Third objective: Security

The third objective - Security, has grown dramatically in importance over the last five years.

In the area of freedom, justice and security, the Union has endorsed an ambitious programme of action, covering areas such as the fight against crime and terrorism, the effective control and policing of our external frontiers, and the management of asylum and immigration, and dealing with human trafficking.

In addition, recent events have shown all too clearly the impact of natural disasters, environmental or health crises, transport and energy threats. These are areas where the Union has a role to play in reducing risks and managing and co-ordinate an EU response to the effects of such events, when they occur.

The Union must also be an active global player

Finally, the Union must also be an active and reliable global partner. Our ability to contribute to prosperity and opportunity is intimately linked to the ability of our partners to do the same.

The solidarity we seek for our citizens cannot stop at the borders of the Union. The border line between our internal and external policies is gradually vanishing.

Over the next 5 years, in addition to the continuing process of accession negotiations, we will continue to pursue a policy of partnership at the international level.

Let me mention three examples where we seek:

• A stable and prosperous neighbourhood, contributing to the development and stability of concerned countries, and to our own security.
• A stronger, single international voice for the Union, promoting effective multilateralism and a reinforced role for the United Nations.
• Reinvigorated relations with key partners: a new strategy for Africa to turnaround the prospects for many parts of this continent and new approach to our transatlantic relationship, looking forward to our common interests for the future.

Madame la Présidente,

Nous devons commencer dès maintenant à mettre en ouvre ces objectifs que - je crois - nous pouvons tous partager. Pour ce faire, la Commission a également adopté son Programme législatif et de travail pour 2005. Il traduit les grands axes de la stratégie à 5 ans en actions concrètes pour cette année. Il est centré sur une courte liste d'initiatives, prioritaires, que nous nous engageons à mener à bien.

Ces initiatives seront toutes soumises à des analyses d'impact pour bien veiller au respect du principe de proportionnalité, subsidiarité et valeur ajoutée de l'action de l'Union. Je m'attends à ce que le Comité soit pleinement impliqué dans sa mise-en-ouvre dans un esprit de bonne coopération.

L'année 2005 sera une année décisive pour l'Europe et pour le projet européen auquel nous sommes tous attachés.

Voila pourquoi il est particulièrement souhaitable que nous puissions renouveler et renforcer cette année le protocole de coopération qui organise notre coopération depuis 2001.

Ce protocole a beaucoup de mérites. Mais dans les discussions qui démarreront les prochains jours, nous devons être plus ambitieux et notamment intégrer quelques défis politiques auxquels le Comité s'est très bien adapté.

Je pense à la gouvernance, à l'élargissement de l'Union et à la Constitution.

• S'agissant de la gouvernance, on peut dire que le Comité est bien au cour de celle-ci et que son action doit s'inscrire dans cette perspective.
• Concernant l'élargissement de l'Union, l'intégration réussie et enrichissante des 97 conseillers des dix nouveaux Etats membres constitue une preuve particulièrement significative de l'attachement du Comité à la réalisation de ce défi historique pour l'Europe.
• En ce qui concerne enfin la Constitution, celle-ci introduit, à côté de la démocratie représentative et du dialogue social, la démocratie participative, dont le Comité est un acteur incontournable.

Sans anticiper sur les résultats des discussions pour le renouvellement du protocole de coopération, il sera cependant souhaitable que le nouveau texte témoigne de la volonté des deux acteurs, Comité et Commission, de renforcer, d'un point de vue politique, leur coopération. Ainsi, s'agissant des deux grands volets de notre coopération, la programmation et le suivi, un effort pour mieux fixer les thèmes vraiment prioritaires me semble devoir être encouragé.

Madame la Présidente,

Dans le cours des prochains mois, nous aurons une magnifique opportunité de changer la perception de l'Europe. Une nouvelle Commission, un nouveau Parlement, des d'objectifs stratégiques faisant l'objet d'un accord et le débat sur la ratification de la Constitution auront pour effet de conduire à un plus large débat sur l'Europe que les citoyens souhaitent.

Nous devons tous jouer notre rôle en expliquant ce que fait l'Europe et pourquoi elle peut apporter une valeur ajoutée.

Mais nous ne pourrons accomplir cela de manière plus efficace que si toutes les Institutions de l'Union s'impliquent dans ce débat. Et nous devons être prêts à être jugés non seulement sur nos paroles mais aussi sur notre capacité à parvenir à des accords sur les politiques et les propositions-clés.

Nous devons répondre aux critiques sur l'Europe en montrant que nous partageons une vision commune de notre futur et que, en agissant ensemble, nous pouvons avancer en partenariat pour faire part de cette vision.

J'espère pouvoir compter sur le soutien de votre Comité afin de relever ce passionnant défi.

Je vous remercie de votre attention