European Council gives its backing to 'action for growth'
EU Heads of State and Government expressed their support for the European action for growth at the European Council in Brussels on 12 December, and called for further suitable projects to be launched under the plan's 'quick start' programme. The European Council described the action for growth, which promotes investments in trans-European network infrastructures (TENs) and research and innovation, as 'an important step in the implementation of the Union's Lisbon agenda.' Europe's leaders did, however, stress that the success of the initiative relies on close collaboration between Member States, the Council, the Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), and highlighted the importance of securing private sector financing for the projects themselves. Furthermore, Member States were told they needed to 'act rapidly to eliminate [...] obstacles to the implementation of PPPs [public private partnerships], TENs and innovation and R&D [research and development] projects,' particularly non-financial framework conditions. For its part, the Commission was invited by the European Council to redirect expenditure, where appropriate, towards growth enhancing investment in physical and human capital and knowledge, as well as provide a mid term evaluation of the action for growth by the end of 2007. In other business, the European Council invited the Commission to propose actions that Member States could take to improve the development of broadband and third generation (3G) mobile communications, in time for their next meeting in Spring 2004. EU leaders also welcomed the Commission's efforts to define a horizontal approach to competitiveness policy, and appeared to endorse a more prominent role for the Competitiveness Council by calling on it to '[identify], in cooperation with the Commission, proposals having a significant impact on competitiveness or creating an excessive burden for certain sectors of industry.'