EU leaders urged to stick to Lisbon agenda

The current economic meltdown "makes it more important than ever" to pursue the goals of the Lisbon agenda, according to Czech industry minister Martin Tlapa.

Tlapa told a conference in Brussels on Thursday that the crisis "underlines the importance" of implementing the structural reforms needed  to boost the EU economy.

"The Lisbon objectives of growth and job creation are more important than ever," he said.

He urged the EU to "stick to the original goals of the Lisbon agenda" and "resist" those objecting to some of its aims, such as a fully-operational internal market.

Tlapa, who was representing the Czech EU presidency at the growth and jobs conference, said this was the message his country would take to next week's EU summit in Brussels which is expected to focus on the global economic downturn.

"We are facing unprecedented economic problems but, hopefully, the EU will emerge stronger and more competitive from the crisis," he said.

The conference, organised by the Lisbon Council, a Brussels think tank, was presented with the findings of a European 'growth and jobs monitor' which says that some member states are better placed than others to withstand the credit crunch.

The study looks at the EU's 14 largest economies and how they are performing in reaching the Lisbon goals, the 2000 initiative in which EU leaders vowed to make Europe the world's 'most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy' by the end of this decade.

It says that "given the dramatic decline" in performance over the last 12 months, no member state will achieve the Lisbon targets.

Finland tops their rankings with Poland coming in second with strong performances on economic and productivity growth.

Ireland fell the furthest, ending at number 13, down nine places from last year.

The survey says that, had the crisis not hit, six EU countries – Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden – would have been on track to fulfil their Lisbon targets by 2010.

The report's main author, Michael Heise, said, "The downturn has hit many countries hard but the prospects are not all dire because Europe still has many fundamental strengths."

Paul Hofheinz, president of the Lisbon Council, said, "The monitor shows that, far from away from the objectives of the Lisbon strategy, we must continue to focus on long-term goals and innovation."

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