|
...successful Spring European Council. participants the Internal Market, the EEA EFTA States fully support the goals of the Lisbon Strategy. Your priorities of promoting eco-friendly growth and increasing quality employment are essential both for the success of the Lisbon Strategy, and for maximizing the benefits of enlargement. During the Irish Presidency, ten new states will become members of the EU. These countries will simultaneously join the EEA, extending the Internal Market to 28 countries. The EEA EFTA States will make substantial contributions to enlargement, and look forward to continue contributing to the further integration of the European Economic Area.
The EEA EFTA States would like to focus their input to the Spring European Council on three areas:
* Making the Internal Market Work
* Stimulating Growth, Competitiveness and Employment
* Supporting Sustainable Development
Making the Internal Market Work
The EEA EFTA States agree that one of the best ways to realise the goals of the Lisbon Strategy is to ensure that the Internal Market continues to develop and function effectively in all parts of the European Economic Area. A sustained focus on the Internal Market Strategy is very important. Every effort should be made to ensure that the individual actions in the strategy are followed up. The EEA EFTA States view positively efforts to bring about a truly effective single market for services. They also agree that the principle of mutual recognition is key to the good functioning of the Internal Market, and support initiatives by all actors to promote application of this principle.
Stimulating Growth, Competitiveness and Employment
A comprehensive approach to innovation is necessary for promoting development and commercialization of useful technologies, and in order to create quality jobs. The EEA EFTA States strongly support initiatives which aim at improving investment in knowledge and networks, especially efforts to adapt education and training systems to the knowledge economy and to develop a European Research Area. The EEA EFTA States are fully prepared to contribute actively in developing these policy areas.
The EEA EFTA States will follow with interest the implementation of the employment guidelines and the Employment Task Force's recommendations. They fully agree with the EU that for the Lisbon Strategy to succeed there needs to be a proper balance between employment and social protection policies. As a means to reach the goals of increasing the employment rate of women and older workers, the EEA EFTA States welcome the EU's emphasis on promoting gender equality and life-long learning. We have on our side experienced that measures which reduce the gender pay gap, together with the promotion of family friendly policies such as improving access to childcare facilities, have made it easier for women and men to combine paid work and family responsibilities. Such policies have resulted in comparatively high employment rates for women. We will continue our cooperation with the Employment Committee, and will...
NOTE: All illustrations and photos
have been removed from this article.
Looking for additional articles?
Search our database of over 3 million articles.
Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?
Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication
name or publication date.
About Goliath
Whether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company
analysis or best practices in managing your organization,
Goliath can help you meet your business needs.
Our extensive business information databases empower business
professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible,
authoritative information they need to support their business
goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting,
company research or defining management best practices -
Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.
|
(european%20free%20trade%20association%20european%20economic%20area%20european%20union)%20%20&position=1)