'Quick wins' needed in Lisbon process, say European business representatives
Two of Europe's leading business organisations have responded to the Commission's annual report to the spring European Council by calling on Member States to score 'quick wins' in the Lisbon process. UNICE, the union of industrial and employers' confederations of Europe, and EUROCHAMBRES, the association of European chambers of commerce and industry, both welcomed the Commission's report, and in particular its focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each Member State within the overall process. After praising the content and directness of the document, EUROCHAMBRES secretary general Arnaldo Abruzzini added: 'On the other hand [the report makes] for depressing reading: there is too little progress, too slowly delivered by too few countries.' 'Member State governments - and in this regard we include the acceding countries - must show they still believe the Lisbon process and ambitions to be valid. They need some quick wins, not just the Quick Start programme,' he added. Mr Abruzzini said that the business community accepts that some progress is being made in the reform of labour markets, in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and in education. 'However, the real benchmarks are [a] widening labour productivity gap with the US, only moderate economic growth, and net outflows of investment from the EU. These are fundamental signals that the European economy is far from being the most competitive in the world,' he concluded. UNICE's president, Jürgen Strube, outlined his organisation's belief that it is excessive costs and regulations that stand in the way of making Europe the most competitive economy in the world by 2010. 'As UNICE has highlighted in its manifesto for competitiveness, European companies, just like Swift's Gulliver, need to be released from thousands of small constraints that stop them from releasing their economic potential in order to create prosperity for Europe.' UNICE does not disagree with the report's focus on the three priorities of investment, competitiveness and employment, according to Mr Strube. 'However, a stronger sense of urgency must be created with an emphasis on economic reforms set to deliver 'quick wins'. 'Therefore, the European business community urges the Irish Presidency to ensure that heads of government commit themselves unambiguously to deliver economic reform at the March spring summit,' he finished.