The conclusions adopted at the spring European Council meeting held on 13 and 14 March in Brussels were outlined by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, and current President of the European Council, Janez Janša to the deputies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia in today’s continuation of the 37th regular session. Mr Janša focused mainly on the summit meeting conclusions relating to the launch of the new three-year Lisbon Strategy cycle, discussion of the energy and climate change package and the European Union’s response to the situation on the world financial markets. He also took the opportunity to present in detail the agreement on upgrading the Barcelona Process – a Union for the Mediterranean

 

(Photo: Bor Slana/Bobo)

 

The Prime Minister said that, at the meeting, the EU-27 Heads of State and Government had assessed the achievements of the first three-year cycle of the Lisbon Strategy. “It was established that on two key points – economic growth and the social aspect – the Strategy had yielded good results.” The priorities of the new cycle of the Lisbon Strategy include entrepreneurship, the development of new environment-friendly technologies, better care for people, and social policy.  The Prime Minister also informed the deputies of the European Council’s decision to introduce a ‘fifth freedom’ – the free movement of knowledge within the EU.

 

In the context of the debate on the energy and climate package, the 27 Heads of State and Government considered the global time dimension, pinpointing the end of the Kyoto period, scheduled for 2012, and the need to plan measures after that. Furthermore, Mr Janša informed the deputies of the debate on greenhouse gas emissions and risks involved in the relocation of energy-intensive industries to non-EU countries. Energy and climate issues, as one of the priorities of the Slovenian Presidency, will also be at the heart of debates at the forthcoming EU summits with Japan, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Russian Federation and the United States.

 

Mr Janša stressed that, in combination, the 36 decisions adopted at this European Council give the European Union a significantly more effective role, including with regard to its involvement in the global arena. “For one thing, the European Union has coordinated certain views and, for another, it has been the first of all the key global stakeholders to set itself objectives and establish frameworks and starting points for achieving global objectives,” emphasised the Prime Minister, who later, during the discussion under this point of the agenda, answered questions from deputies.