Further Information : Lisbon Agenda
In March 2000 the Lisbon European Council agreed a new strategic goal for the EU in order to strengthen employment, economic reform and social cohesion as part of a knowledge-based economy.
The EU set itself a new strategic goal for the subsequent decade: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. This is known as the Lisbon Agenda, or Lisbon Strategy. The Lisbon Agenda has three key elements to increase competitiveness of the European Union:
- An economic pillar preparing ground for transition to a competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based economy. Emphasis is place on the need to adapt constantly to changes in the information society and to boost research and development
- A social pillar designed to modernise the European social model by investing in HR and combating social exclusion. Member States are expected to invest in education and training and to conduct an active policy for employment, making it easier to move to a knowledge economy
- An environmental pillar, added at the Gothenburg European Council in June 2001, draws attention to the fact that economic growth must be decoupled from the use of natural resources
The Lisbon Agenda invited the European Commission and the Member States to further integrate aspects of equal opportunities in employment policies, including reducing occupational segregation and helping to reconcile working and family life. The Lisbon Council set quantitative targets for achieving gender equality in economic life, such as that of raising women's employment rate in the EU. They stress the importance of fostering and mainstreaming ways of giving women equal access to the knowledge-based economy.
Further information can be found on the European Commission's website Growth and Jobs
Gothenburg Strategy
The environmental dimension of the Lisbon Agenda was added at an EU-level European Summit held in Gothenburg in June 2001. This placed a new emphasis on the protection of the environment and the achievement of a more sustainable pattern of development. The aim is 'to decouple environmental degradation and resource consumption from economic and social development by 2010.
The main priorities of the Gothenburg Strategy are:
- combating climate change;
- ensuring sustainable transport options;
- addressing threats to public health; and
- managing natural resources in a more responsible manner
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