Europe is standing at a crossroad. Over the last five decades the European integration process can be described as a success story. We have established a common market and further developed the social dimension. We have a single currency, which has been generally accepted by citizens. And since 1st May 2004 Europe is unified on the basis on democracy and peace.

But where shall we go from here? The Group of Policy Advisers (GOPA), established by the European Commission and chaired by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, presented report a few days ago. Yesterday the European Policy Centre (EPC) held a dialogue in order to discuss the main proposals of the group upon which a political Europe should be built.

The former French Economic Minister, Strauss-Kahn, summarised the main policy recommendations during his contribution yesterday. According to him, the European model is not stable, because it is going through a profound crisis. A change in paradigm is necessary and a new logic of opportunities has to be developed. The expert group has elaborated 50 proposals for the Europe of tomorrow. Reiner Hoffmann, Deputy General Secretary of the ETUC, welcomed the report and underlined that many of the ideas are similar to those found in the ETUC Action Programme, “Make Europe work for the people”. He stressed the need to reform the macro-economic framework of the Union and that a pro-active European industrial policy must be developed. Hoffmann is convinced that the fulfillment of the Lisbon Strategy objectives will only be achieved if we do not limit ourselves to strengethening competitiveness. The social and environmental objectives must be on the same footing. According to Hoffmann, the Strauss-Kahn report is an important document for the ongoing debate on the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy.