Forum 2006

Competitive Europe - Social Europe: partners or rivals?
Dublin, 1-3 November 2006

The Lisbon goals: why are we not on target? The people's view

Abstract by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

More than ever before, Europe and its Member States must demonstrate that they can deliver on policies - policies that address people's worries and concerns: jobs and social security come first. This is the very heart of the New Social Europe, the PES’ major new initiative.

Europe’s growth and wealth potential is enormous but not automatically generated. Globalisation is creating a radically new global market economy, constantly affecting our societies through permanent change. The Lisbon Strategy sets targets, but does not set out how to achieve them: this is where the relevance of political parties and political choices come into play. This is where the New Social Europe must define a way forward.

The key question for social democrats in this era of globalisation is the following: how do we combine our European welfare states with international competitiveness, growth and jobs?

Europe’s social democrats want to design and promote policies capable of making the best out of globalisation and shaping it in a way which reflects our social democratic values. This is at the heart of the challenge we face. And it is not an impossible dream. Some European countries are managing it better than others. The key is to learn lessons from this and define a roadmap to guide us in the New Social Europe.