Europe must do more to achieve Lisbon goals, say EU leaders
The President of the European Commission and the current President of the European Council told the European Parliament on 4 April of their satisfaction with the Stockholm summit, but stressed there is still much to be done. Swedish Prime Minister and President in Office of the European Council, Göran Persson, noted that the importance of biotechnology for the European economy had been highlighted in Stockholm, and stressed that ethical and moral aspects must be respected when developing this technology. The meeting was a first step in following up the Union's ambitious goal set in Lisbon, Mr Persson said. 'In Lisbon we laid the foundations. In Stockholm we built the first of ten storeys.' And he emphasised that Internet security is vital for the development of eEurope and the promotion of e-commerce to exploit its potential to create growth. President Prodi added to this that Europe still needs to improve skill and training in information technology. Mr Prodi took the opportunity to reproach Member States for delaying progress in two areas which he regards as highly important: the Community patent and Galileo. 'I must say, these positions taken by the Member States seem to run counter to the interests of their own business community, which is clamouring for a simple, clear and inexpensive Community patent,' he said. I sincerely hope this situation can be resolved. The Council and the House need to take swift action to follow up last year's commitment in Lisbon. Mr Prodi adopted a similar attitude on the subject of Galileo. He referred to the private sector's recent commitment to provide 200 million euro for the project. 'This means there is now no reason at all for hesitation on the part of the Member States,' said President Prodi. 'Let me repeat: this is not time for tinkering. A project of this strategic importance for all European citizens over the next twenty years must not be held up by squabbles over petty details.' UK MEP Brian Simpson welcomed Mr Prodi's comments on the Galileo programme. He recognised that the costs are considerable, but said that the benefits are enormous and that companies are ready to participate. What is needed is a political commitment from governments to enable a private/public sector partnership to develop, he said.