Don’t let the EU abandon the Lisbon Strategy

25 Mar 2004

Organisations monitoring Irish implementation of EU strategies in social policy are very concerned that the EU heads of government are preparing to quietly abandon its own commitment to providing ‘more and better jobs and greater social cohesion’ by focusing solely on achieving greater competitiveness. These organisations call on the EU President, Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern TD, to ensure that the European Council in Brussels lives up to this commitment which is central to the 10-year Lisbon Strategy which was adopted at the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000.

Philip O’Connor, Director of the Dublin Employment Pact said: “We understand that there are a lot of important issues for the Prime Ministers and Presidents to discuss when they get together, but the idea of the Spring Council is to focus on social and economic issues. The Taoiseach needs to ensure that the focus remains firmly on improving the situation of people living in poverty – be they employed or unemployed”.

Among the concerns of the Dublin Employment Pact (DEP), the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) and the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland are: