Looking at how far the EU’s renewed Lisbon Strategy really is respecting the commitment to achieve sustainable development, unions and NGOs leaders stated: "The revised Lisbon Strategy (Growth and Jobs strategy) is incomplete and imbalanced. It is putting the main emphasis on the economic pillar of competitiveness, mainly focusing on building an internal market that has no barriers for business. And meanwhile, it is forgetting that the forces of competition need a social and ecological framework to keep them away from cut-throat competition, social dumping, environmental disasters and the depletion of natural capital”.

During the conference entitled ‘Does the Lisbon Process produce Sustainable Development?’ European trade unions and social and environmental NGOs addressed their concerns to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Austrian Minister of Economic and Labour Affairs Martin Bartenstein. They called on the EU to show stronger leadership than ever in addressing priority concerns to the vast European public - such as high unemployment and low quality jobs, downgraded social welfare and protection systems, social dumping, risks to their health and quality of life, and the unprecedented rate of depletion of our natural resources.

“European leadership must be driven by wider concerns than a business-friendly agenda of internal market and simplified regulation. What matters for the welfare of present and future generations within and outside of Europe must be at the heart of any real leadership - this is the basis of good governance for sustainable development”, the groups said in a joint statement. They call for “not less Europe, but rather a different and better Europe”.

Furthermore, in the joint statement, the three organisations make a set of proposals that would help steer the economy in the right social and environmental direction, while ensuring the creation of prosperity and employment. These proposals focus around the four-fold priorities of the Commission for the Lisbon Agenda and insist on the following points: give priority to balanced sustainable development objectives in their R&D programmes, take a balanced approach towards better regulation and in the design of better regulation initiatives avoiding giving ultimate priority to favouring cost savings for business rather than safeguarding people’s health and environmental and social protection, present a roadmap for social justice and fair working conditions to make productive and positive change happen, finally adopt a consistent approach towards energy issues at EU level, focusing on achieving sustainable development.

Anne-Sophie Parent, President of the Platform of European Social NGOs (Social Platform), said today: “Our analysis of the national reform programmes shows that national actions that lack a clear and unambiguous European framework risk making matters worse. The EU should provide a genuine framework for reform. Europe needs to use its strength of working together to trigger a “race to the top” in the areas of environment, research, eco-innovation, social protection and social cohesion, education, childcrare and lifelong learning”.

Mikael Karlsson, President of the European Environmental Bureau, commented: “Tackling global climate change requires global solutions. So far Europe’s leaders have talked much but done less. A truly global leadership requires the EU to phase out harmful energy subsidies and put a price on the environment through a strengthened emissions trading scheme in combination with environmental tax reform”.

John Monks, Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation, confirmed: “The European Union simply cannot afford to ignore issues which are of such major concern to people in Europe like huge unemployment, the lack of availability of good job opportunities, risks to health and the environment. These justified concerns must be addressed”.

 Joint Statement

Press contacts:

Patricia Grillo (European Trade Union Confederation) Tel: + 32 (0)2 224 04 30 - GSM: + 32 (0) 477 77 01 64 - email: pgrillo@etuc.org

Daniela Vincenti-Mitchener (Social Platform) Tel: + 32 (0)2 511 37 14 - email: daniela.mitchener@socialplatform.org

Gemma Parkes (European Environmental Bureau) Tel: + 32 (0)2 289 13 09 - email: gemma.parkes@eeb.org