Dick Spring
Question:48 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline his priorities for the forthcoming EU summit in Stockholm; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8401/01]
Written Answers. - EU Summits.
Ireland's priorities for the Stockholm European Council should be seen against the framework of advancing the Lisbon agenda. Ireland remains fully committed to implementing the full range of strategies and measures agreed at Lisbon last March which are aimed at transforming the European Union into 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.
In preparation for the Stockholm summit, the Taoiseach wrote to the Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson, in January indicating the following the priorities for Ireland: underpinning current strong economic trends and progress towards Lisbon employment targets including by the pursuit of economic growth that advances sustainable development; mainstreaming the social inclusion agenda; developing lifelong learning including basic skills, education and training opportunities; responding to the challenges of a changing demographic profile including the promotion of equal opportunities, gender equality and the sustainability of public finances; ensuring a sharper focus on the regulatory reform agenda; further development of the European Area of Research and Development; and implementing of the e-Europe action plan and financial services action plan.
In our approach to the Stockholm European Council, and in accordance with the priorities outlined in the Taoiseach's letter, Ireland has placed particular emphasis on the issue of developing lifelong learning including basic skills, education and training opportunities. To this end, Ireland took part in a working group, which also included the UK, Portugal and Denmark, which produced a report entitled From Lisbon to Stockholm, Basic Skills for Employability and Citizenship. This report highlights the critical importance of a specific focus on the development of basic skills both for those in the workplace and for those seeking to enter or re-enter the labour market
In a further contribution to the Stockholm summit, a national paper on the regulatory system entitled Better Regulation Through Partnership was forwarded by the Taoiseach to Prime Minister Persson on 6 March. The paper draws attention to the fact that over-regulation and under-regulation can impede achievement of the Lisbon goals and that poor quality or excessive regulation will inevitably inhibit economic growth and social progress. It indicates that Ireland wishes to see proposals brought forward by the Commission for promoting greater dialogue between national competition authorities as to how competition policy principles could be used to support regulatory coherence in the EU and in member states. The key themes in the document are benchmarking regulatory reform – it is proposed in the paper that the European Commission and member states should undergo a regulatory reform review based on the OECD process and the establishment of a benchmarking framework and a virtual management network are also suggested; consultation on regulation – it is proposed that social partnership mechanisms could be adapted to form part of new consultation mechanisms at the European level; and the social partners could be invited to participate in a consideration of possible models; and impact of regulation – it is proposed that a common regulatory impact assessment model should be introduced and piloted and training mechanisms for RIA should be developed.
It is also suggested in the paper that there should be more coherence and dialogue between EU member states in the area of competition policy and enforcement.