Stability Pact and Lisbon Strategy to Dominate EU Summit Agenda

Brussels, 22 March

Prime Minister Janez Jansa will join EU leaders at the spring EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday, with the agenda dominated by economic issues. The leaders are expected to approve a reform of the EU stability and growth pact and a revamped Lisbon Strategy.

Croatia's EU integration has not been put on the official agenda despite a request by four member states - according to diplomatic sources they include Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia - to do so. The issue, however, may be a subject of informal talks.
The two-day summit will begin on Tuesday afternoon with a traditional meeting of EU leaders with the European Parliament President, Josep Borrell.
The first item on the summit's agenda will be changes to the stability and growth pact. A compromise on the reform was reached after months of negotiations and marathon talks by EU finance ministers on Sunday.
According to Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk, the key decision is that the basic budget deficit and public debt ceilings remain unchanged at 3 percent and 60 percent of GDP respectively. Bajuk believes the reform will bolster the preventive provisions of the pact, which will allow more leverage in the prevention of serious problems.
According to the new rules, EU member states will be given a chance to cite the specifics of their economic situation and problems as excuse for breaking the stability and growth pact rules.
The second major issue on the agenda will be the reform of the Lisbon Strategy aimed at giving the EU economy a fresh impetus and raise its competitiveness. The debate is expected to focus on the balance between the economic, social and environmental pillars of the strategy.
The EU leaders will be accompanied at the EU summit by finance and foreign ministers, who are to hold separate meetings on Tuesday evening.
The finance ministers, including Slovenia's Andrej Bajuk, are to discuss the replacement at the top of World Bank, as the US nominated Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, a key architect of the Iraq war, to the post.
The EU foreign ministers, including Slovenia's Dimitrij Rupel, will meanwhile discuss efficient multilateralism and the reform of the UN as unveiled by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Before the beginning of the summit, PM Jansa is scheduled to attend a meeting of leaders of the European People's Party (EPP) at noon.

Stability Pact and Lisbon Strategy to Dominate EU Summit Agenda

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