Future of Lisbon Strategy - a new framework for promoting reforms

 

 

Bucharest, April 10 /Agerpres/ - The head of the Department for European Affairs (DAE), Minister Vasile Puscas, stated on Friday, at the conference 'Lisbon Strategy - the main platform of promotion of structural reforms', that the future of the Lisbon Strategy will consist in the creation of a new framework for the promotion of needed reforms focused on the long-term consolidation of the European economy global competitiveness.

To this end, DAE head underlined the importance of giving an impetus and of promoting inventiveness, creativity and competitiveness in connection to industrial, agricultural and social policies, as an instrument for speeding up the economic growth and, implicitly, for the acceleration of the country's modernization.

He reminded that, at this year-start, the European Commission released the 'Report on the Implementation of Lisbon Strategy Reforms in the member States and in the euro zone' and that, in the case of Romania, recommendations were focused on four fields linked to the macro-economic policies: strengthening of the administrative capacity, improvement of the business environment, boost of the labor force occupancy degree and the quality of the educational system.

In this context, DAE proceeded, together with the institutions with prerogatives in this field, to the identification of supplementary actions, in the framework of the inter-institutional consultation process, with the objective to revise the 2009-2012 Action plan for the implementation of the National Plan of Reforms.

The European Commissioner for Multilingualism, Leonard Orban, hailed the efforts made by the Romanian authorities in the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy and appreciated that, given the difficult situation at the European and world levels, reforming measures are needed, respectively the introduction of a real structural reform in Romania.

He insisted in this context on the need to reform the labor market.

'In the opinion of the European Commission, a medium and long-term strategy of reforming and rendering the labor market more flexible is needed. In the absence of such a strategy it will be extremely difficult to implement various reforms, including the preparations for the adoption of the euro currency', underlined the European Commissioner.

Attending the conference 'Lisbon Strategy - the main platform of promotion of structural reforms', on Friday, at Parliament Palace, were representatives of the public authorities, of the civil society and of the business environment. The conference was aimed at examining the Government's options to implement the Lisbon Agenda, as well as their debate with the main social players.

Officials participating in this conference included the European Commissioner for Multilingualism Leonard Orban, Vice-premier Dan Nica, Minister Vasile Puscas, Minister of Public Finance Gheorghe Pogea, Vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies Daniela Popa, head of the European Commission Representation to Romania Nicolae Idu, as well as other representatives of the Government, Parliament and of the European Commission.

 

 

[Source: Romanian National News Agency AGERPRES ]