Dansk positionspapir til forårstopmødet vedr. Lissabon-strategi
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Til underretning for Folketingets Europaudvalg vedlægges dansk positionspapir til forårstopmødet vedrørende Lissabon-strategien.
Denmark
Spring European Council 2004
Meeting the challenges in the enlarged European Union
Important progress has been achieved during the first years of the Lisbon-strategy. But there is still a long way to go. Europe is lagging behind the best and most competitive global economies in a number of key areas, especially when it comes to growth and employment. Delivering on the enlarged Union’s potential for growth is the most important challenge. We should take advantage of the enlargement by assisting the integration of new Member States in to the Lisbon Strategy. We need to revitalize the Lisbon Strategy if we want to make Europe the most competitive, knowledge based economy by 2010.
Investing in knowledge, innovation and quality
Research, development and education are key to European growth, prosperity and new and better jobs. Increased focus on education and a larger supply of skilled researchers is essential. Public investment must focus on basic research and technologies with wide application. Concrete examples are environmental technologies, nano technologies, and information and communication technologies. Cooperation between public and private research must be developed further. Undertaking research in Europe needs to be more attractive. Patent rules, financial conditions and strong competition should drive more private research. Focus should increasingly be on strengthening results and ensuring value for money, in the context of the aim of approaching the 3 percent target. Redirecting EU-expenditure towards investment in knowledge should be an essential part of the next financial perspectives.
We need to
- Redirect EU spending towards research, and increase funding for the 7th framework program for research
- Create a European Fund for Basic Research
- With a view to the mid-term review invite the Commission to suggest relevant output targets (e.g. on patents, innovation output, centres of scientific excellence, and science citation index) to allow an increasing focus on results
- Create a European Innovation Award
- Improve framework conditions at European level by deciding on the European Patent, recognition of qualifications and focus on implementing Lisbon-directives
- Promote investments in leading technologies such as environmental technologies and –services.
- At national level reallocate spending towards research and education. Enhance quality by continuing modernising management of universities, including through benchmarking of universities in the EU.
Less barriers to entrepreneurship, more liberalisation – more and better jobs
Framework conditions for business must be improved. Reduction in direct and indirect state aid must continue. We must complete the internal market in services and ensure swift implementation in member states. Barriers to innovation should be reduced, especially for SME’s. The entrepreneurial spirit of researchers should be encouraged. Improving framework conditions must be accompanied by an ambitious labour market policy. Wim Kok report is a valuable input to labour market reforms in the Member States. Participation rates in the labour market must be raised, also with a view to improve fiscal balances. Qualifications and incentives in particular for low paid, women and elderly workers must be improved.
We need to
- Agree on a framework directive on services before the Spring Summit 2005
- Invite the Commission to develop a common method to measure regulatory and administrative burdens of EU legislation for enterprises.
- Ensure assessments of regulatory quality and impact before and after adoption of new EU legislation and to encourage national endeavours to the same effect. The Commission should be invited to review the effect of the existing EU-legislation on competitiveness with a view to recommend possible changes.
- Pledge nationally how we intend to follow up on Wim Kok’s proposals.
Midterm review in 2005 – rethinking implementation
Achieving our common ambition by 2010 requires a renewed effort – nationally and at the European level. Delivering faster on the promised goals and agreed legislation is essential. Moreover, it is a special challenge to integrate our new Members in order for the huge potential for growth in the enlarged Union to materialise.
We need to
- Invite the Commission to develop a common framework to review each country on all policy goals, e.g. by conducting qualitative analyses of different kinds of policy mixes used by Members States to reach the Lisbon goals.
- Develop measures to assist the new Member States implementation of the Lisbon goals, especially in the field of research and development.