EU stagnates in bid to achieve employment targets
RICHARD CARTER
23.09.2004 @ 17:38 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU is falling short of its employment targets and has much ground to make up if it is to succeed in making itself "the most competitive economy in the World by 2010", announced the European Commission today (23 September).
The EU employment rate in 2003 stagnated at 63 percent, considerably below the Union's target, set by the Lisbon Strategy, of 70 percent by 2010.
Moreover, there are "only limited employment growth prospects for 2004 and 2005", according to the Brussels executive.
Employment growth rose by a meagre 0.2 percent in 2003, compared to 0.9 percent in the US.
"Taken together, it seems that the EU is still far short of the Lisbon objectives and targets", is the gloomy conclusion of the Commission's "Employment in Europe report 2004".
Competitiveness is key
The bad news comes as EU ministers prepare to meet for a so-called Competitiveness Council - or as its own Chairman recently termed it, "the Mickey Mouse Council".
Beginning with dinner tonight, ministers will hear an oral briefing from former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok on his "Lisbon Report", which aims to provide solutions to the slow progress made towards the EU's economic aims.
Ministers will then discuss other ways to boost competitiveness, such as improving the rate at which internal market legislation is transposed into national law and simplifying other EU laws.
Each member state has drawn up a list of 10 EU laws that they believe is unwieldy and ministers will debate ways to break down the list in a bid to simplify legislation.
