The key to a successful Ireland and a successful Europe is job creation, writes Bertie Ahern, who outlines his agenda for the EU's summit in Barcelona.
The European Union is a success. It has created the framework for peace in Europe. It has also been the means through which the people of Europe have secured their prosperity. We cannot be complacent, however. Europe must constantly strive to secure its future prosperity.
The drive to make Europe the most competitive and dynamic economy in the world affects us all. To succeed will require sustained effort over the long term. Success will allow the EU to demonstrate how fundamentally important it is as the framework through which we in Ireland, and people across the whole of the European Union, secure our future.
Two years ago, EU leaders set an ambitious goal. Meeting in Lisbon in the spring of 2002 we set out to make the EU by 2010 the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. We agreed that we should create more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. Last year we agreed that all this should be done in the context of sustainable development. We called this process the Lisbon Agenda.
This week EU leaders will meet in Barcelona to review progress. Two years on, or one fifth of the way to the target date, how has Europe done? Can we do more?
First, let us acknowledge some progress. On January 1st this year we completed economic and monetary union with the introduction of the euro notes and coins. This is a very significant step both symbolically and for practical reasons. For the 12 participating member-states we created a strong single currency and completed an important cornerstone of the Single Market. We know that there are some significant price differentials throughout the EU. Consumers can now ask the reasons why and measures can be put in place to address any problems.
In the two years since we launched the Lisbon Agenda, Europe has created five million jobs. Four million more women are at work today than two years ago. Our target for 2010 is to create 20 million new jobs. Ireland has played its part with employment growth of over 117,000 in the two years to August 2001. So too has Spain and the UK.
The lesson seems to be that where there is an effort to liberalise the economy and to deregulate in an orderly manner, jobs are created. Creating jobs is the most sustainable way to reduce poverty and deprivation levels. Creating jobs must remain our primary focus in particular as we are experiencing the effects of a downturn in the economy. I will emphasise this in Barcelona.
At Barcelona we will have the opportunity to assess our performance on the many and varied elements that make up the Lisbon Agenda. We will concentrate on a number of issues identified by the Spanish Prime Minister José Aznar and seek to push them forward. These are: labour market mobility and the reform of the labour market, lifelong education, energy liberalisation, the financial services action plan and telecommunications issues.
In the context of creating new jobs and reforming the labour market to allow this to happen, I will stress the need for lifelong learning. In today's knowledge-based economy, our schools must be geared to the needs of our economy and society and our places of employment must enable change and adaptability. We need to strengthen our efforts to ensure that all our citizens have the basic skills which enable them to participate effectively in a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy.
We are in the process of establishing a new legal framework for e-commerce. The aim is to boost business and consumer confidence. A European Small Firms Charter is designed to raise the rate of business start-up and create a more entrepreneurial European economy.
The European research network - a real investment in the future - is now the fastest growing research network in the world. The target is to have 3 per cent of GDP devoted to gross expenditure on research and development by 2010. This will represent a major challenge.
For Irish researchers, I will be seeking to ensure that access to EU research funds is not made unduly bureaucratic in the new framework programme to be adopted.
Although much is moving forward, there are some blockages in the system. The Community Patent is stalled and more needs to be done on energy liberalisation and public procurement. At the same time the European Parliament has begun to play its part in driving the Lisbon Agenda forward. I look forward to working with Pat Cox, as President of the European Parliament, both before and during our Presidency of the EU in 2004 in driving the Lisbon Agenda forward.
In Barcelona we will be reviewing our 10 year goal after two years' work. We do this now every spring at what is becoming known as the Spring Economic Summit. In two years, Ireland will host such a summit during our Presidency of the European Union. At that stage we are likely to have an additional 10 member-states participating.
Barcelona will seek to give a political impetus to the many and varied ongoing processes leading to our 2010 goal. The political impetus that European leaders must give will not necessarily result in dramatic breakthroughs or outcomes. That is not the nature of the Lisbon Agenda.
What we must do every year that we meet to review progress is ensure that each one of the member-states is doing all it can do to achieve our common goal. This will not be without difficulty for many, including us here in Ireland. However, I believe the goal is attainable only if Europe makes every effort to compete.
We can then create a dynamic, prosperous and secure Europe for all the people of the European Union: east and west, north and south. This is a good legacy to leave for our children and our children's children.
Bertie Ahern is Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil