Slovenia Wants Clear Definition of Lisbon Strategy Goals

Ljubljana, 18 November

The Slovenian government agrees with the conclusions of the Kok commission which said in a recent report that the Lisbon Strategy needs to focus on two main objectives - achieving greater economic growth and higher employment, according to head of the government Institute for Macroeconomic Analyses and Development (IMAD) Janez Sustersic. Social cohesion and environment objectives should also be given priority.

It is necessary to focus the efforts aimed at boosting the Lisbon Strategy at those EU members that lag farthest behind in achieving all these objectives, Sustersic said after Thursday's session of government, after the cabinet adopted a resolution on the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy.
The government examined the Lisbon Strategy through the prism of the recent report by former Dutch PM Wim Kok. The report concluded that implementation is lackluster: the EU will have to become more flexible and make use of its advantages, while the Lisbon process must become the subject of national strategies and political commitments in member states.
Slovenia's position on the debate leading up to the interim report on the enactment of the Lisbon Strategy, scheduled for confirmation in March 2005, are divided in four sections: the need for a clear definition of priorities, better management, improving the strategy in individual member states and identifying key reforms.
Sustersic expects that better management on the EU and national levels will probably be the subject of the most heated debates. Slovenia supports the initiative that each country put a cabinet member in charge of the Lisbon Strategy, but a forum must be created on the EU level to facilitate their cooperation, either as part of the EU Council or separately.
Slovenia is much more reserved about the proposal that each country should draw up a national action plan for the implementation of Lisbon Strategy objectives. There are already many similar action plans, said Sustersic. Instead, we should focus on coordinating EU policies and target them at specific areas, only then can we start thinking about an umbrella action plan, he said.
Another effort that Slovenia supports, according to Sustersic, is that the objectives be funded to a larger extent from the EU budget in the sense that projects targetted primarily at achieving the Lisbon objectives would be prioritised. At the same time, it should become a priority to use cohesion funds for projects that are in line with the strategy, notably investment in human resources and employment.
As part of the call for the creation of key priorities in the Lisbon process, Slovenia proposes five priority tasks: investments in increasing productivity, improving the workings of the internal market, investments in education, development and infrastructure, and making labour markets more flexible.
The government also notes that EU newcomers should be helped - they are not as well developed as old members so they will find it difficult to achieve the objectives. This is also an opportunity to boost GDP growth, provided that targetted and well-planned measures are taken.
According to an IMAD analysis, Slovenia has improved the implementation of Lisbon objectives in certain areas compared to last year. Yet it still lags behind in the crucial measures of productivity and prices. The situation has deteriorated in business investment, the participation rate, funding for science and research, greenhouse gas emissions and the economy's energy intensity.

Slovenia Wants Clear Definition of Lisbon Strategy Goals

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