By Martin Banks - 12th March 2010
A major business organisation says parliament has an "ambiguous" role in the commission's recently-unveiled EU2020 strategy on jobs and growth.
Eurochambres, which represents business at a pan-European level, is now urging the assembly's president to ensure that parliament's role in delivering on the 2020 goals is made "more robust and clear."
Ben Butters, the organisation's director of EU affairs, was speaking at a briefing on Thursday on the strategy, which is the successor to the Lisbon agenda.
Lisbon was supposed to turn the EU into the world's most dynamic and competitive economy by 2010, but the consensus is that it failed to deliver on its goals.
Butters said that "far more rigorous monitoring" was required to ensure that EU2020 succeeds where Lisbon is seen to have failed.
He added, "Member states will have a pivotal role to play here but our big concern is that the role of parliament in all this is rather ambiguous."
Butters said the organisation would write to parliament's president Jerzy Buzek "urging that the assembly plays a clear and robust role in implementing the EU2020 strategy."
He continued, "For example, we think parliament could work more closely with member states in monitoring implementation of some of the main 2020 objectives on things like R&D and tertiary education.
"Another area where parliament could be involved is at committee stage. The relevant committees could organise thematic hearings which would also give stakeholders like ours a chance to see what is being done in terms of delivery and implementation."
Butters said his organisation, which represents over 19 million businesses in Europe through 46 members, generally welcomed the 2020 strategy, saying that its contents were "reasonable."
But he warned, "Delivery on its goals remains to be seen. That is the problem. The big difference this time is that national governments must be much more committed to EU2020 than they appeared to be to Lisbon."
Speaking at the same event, a senior commission official pledged that the executive "would not hesitate" to take action against those member states deemed to be failing to implement the EU2020 targets.
Gerard de Graaf, a head of unit in the commission's secretariat general, outlined the strategy to an audience of stakeholders, businessmen and journalists.
He told the meeting the commission would use a formal policy warning mechanism - a sort of "yellow card" - against offending member states.
The mechanism is contained in the Lisbon treaty, adopted by member states last December, and, in this case, is aimed at ensuring the goals of the strategy are met over the next 10 years.
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.