PM Tells Summit Irish Economic Employment Experience Offers Model For EU

Irish Government Press Release

27 March 2000

Taoiseach says Irish Economic Employment Experience offers model for EU partners at Lisbon Summit.

At the end of today's European Summit the Taoiseach said " I am pleased to have been able to tell Ireland's story at this Summit. In the way that we have learned so much from our European Partners over the years, it is good to be able to offer the Irish experience as a model. For that reason, I am pleased to see so much of the principles and values that underpin our approach at home reflected in today's Conclusions".

This Summit focused on the Unions competitiveness across a wide range of areas, but more specifically on harnessing the potential of Europe's greatest asset, its people and its innovation and knowledge base. The targets set for investment in human resources and a wide range of Research & Investment are fully in line with our goals under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF) and the National Development Plan. The approach to be adopted to achieve the targets in the Conclusions, mirrors the inclusive social partnership, public/private partnership approach we have successfully operated in Ireland.

In particular, the targets set in relation to opening telecommunications to increased competition to reduce Internet access costs by end-2000, removing all barriers to trade in services by end-2000 and full liberalisation of EU energy markets, will mean that Ireland faces increasing competition within Europe in these and other areas. It is therefore vital that we adhere to the commitments agreed in the PPF if we are to maintain continued sustainable growth and increasing prosperity for everyone in the community.

The targets in relation to social objectives agreed at the Summit such as the naming of full employment as a key objective, raising the percentage of working age people in the EU actually employed from 61% today to 70% by 2010 and putting social inclusion at the centre of policy making, are fully consistent with the commitments we have undertaken with the Social Partners in Ireland under the new programme.

I see the domestic Irish and European level approaches as strongly mutually reinforcing. We have set a strategic course at Lisbon for the next decade focusing on the development of the knowledge-based economy; modernising the European Social Model by investing in people and an active welfare state; and, most importantly, we have set down the concrete steps and deadline for achieving our goals.

.

Recommended

Write a comment