The European Council in Barcelona, held on March 15 and 16, addressed important issues, including the economic, social, and environmental situation of the Union. Several events have demonstrated that when there is political will, agreements can be reached, as evidenced by the successful implementation of the euro, which has so far met its objectives. Furthermore, the global economy is in the early stages of recovery following the sharp decline of 2001, particularly after the September 11 attacks. This situation calls for swift action to improve the outlook through a clear commitment to economic reform aimed at increasing the EU's growth and employment potential.
Given this situation, the 15 prime ministers of the European Union, under the newly inaugurated presidency of Aznar, are focusing their commitments during the Barcelona Summit on economic coordination and the international situation. It is also important to highlight that this Council meeting marks the first time an official working session has been held with the leaders of the 12 candidate countries for accession and with Turkey.
The candidates are thus enjoying one of the last itinerant Councils, as the next presidency, Denmark, already plans to hold one of its two summits in Brussels.
The Barcelona summit has therefore led to the adoption of urgent measures to adapt the European economy and to take full advantage of the growth potential of the single currency; "the debate is about the pace and speed at which we should move forward," said the Prime Minister, José María Aznar.
Priority actions
The European Council has identified three broad sectors requiring specific support, given their crucial role in completing the creation of a genuine common economic area and achieving the Union's long-term objectives. Active policies aimed at full employment: The goal is to create more and better jobs. To this end, the Council has urged social partners to become involved not only at the European level, but also at the national, regional, and local levels, based on the Lisbon objectives. This includes the proposal of an annual report to assess the degree of adaptability of companies in areas such as collective bargaining, wage moderation, productivity improvement, lifelong learning, new technologies, and flexible work arrangements. Regarding professional skills and mobility within the European Union, the Summit addressed issues such as creating the necessary practical conditions to guarantee genuine mobility for all those involved in education, research, and innovation; and reducing regulatory and administrative barriers to professional recognition. to ensure that all citizens are well-trained with basic qualifications, especially those related to information and communication technologies, and in particular, groups such as unemployed women…
Among the points to highlight in the matter discussed, the European Council addressed two important new developments:
1. A European health insurance card will be created to replace the current paper forms required to obtain healthcare in other Member States. The Commission will present a proposal to this effect before the Spring 2003 European Council. This card will simplify procedures but will not change any existing rights and obligations.
2. An internet site providing information on labour mobility in Europe will be created, in close cooperation with the Member States, with a view to it being fully operational by the end of 2003 at the latest.
Connecting European economies
The second key point concerns financial markets. Many proposals were put forward in this regard, but the main focus was on the integration of European energy, transport, and communications networks. Greater market openness, appropriate regulations, better use of existing networks, and consideration of remaining connections will increase the efficiency of competition and guarantee an adequate level of quality, while reducing congestion and thus strengthening sustainability. It is precisely in this area that the first obstacle arises. France is staunchly opposed to the liberalization of the energy sector, imposing harsh conditions on opening up the electricity and gas markets to competition for businesses and professionals.
For his part, the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, proposed setting a deadline of the end of the year to decide when the energy sector for domestic consumers would be opened to competition. Prodi proposes liberalizing the electricity market for industrial use by the end of 2003, the gas market in 2004, and opening it up to domestic consumers before the end of 2002.
A competitive economy
Finally, the Barcelona Knowledge Summit did not forget the field of education. In this regard, the points discussed included issues such as: the introduction of instruments designed to guarantee the transparency of diplomas and qualifications; the teaching of at least two foreign languages from a very early age; and increasing funding for R&D in light of the important role played by cutting-edge technologies.
The comments
Prime Minister José María Aznar, speaking in Congress about the results of the European Council meeting in Barcelona, stated that the progress achieved at the Summit contributes to "boosting the economic recovery that is already beginning to be felt" and allows us to affirm that there is "more Europe, more integrated and more open" than before the European Council. On the Prime Minister's agenda now remain the actions agreed upon by the Fifteen. Among the most urgent issues are the Galileo Programme, the review of the Trans-European Energy and Transport Networks, and the Regulation on cross-border electricity flows. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the European Commission, Jonathan Faull, said in Brussels that "the Commission is very satisfied. The issues discussed, the agenda established, and the results achieved are largely based on the Commission's proposals and work. We have largely achieved what we intended." However, Rodríguez Zapatero is not entirely pleased, announcing that for the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), the European Council meeting in Barcelona was "neither a success nor a failure. A small step."
Conclusions
Two years ago, the fifteen countries that make up the European Union set a timetable in Lisbon to make Europe the world's most dynamic economy, setting 2010 as the deadline. However, the recently concluded Barcelona Summit concluded that insufficient progress has been made toward the established goals. The European Council meeting in March featured sessions with a strong economic focus. For this reason, the finance ministers of the participating member states attended all the meetings, along with the presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers.
The sessions were chaired by José María Aznar, and also attended by the Secretary General of the Council, the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, and the Commissioners for Economy, Pedro Solbes; for Business and Information Society, Ekki Liikanen; for Education, Viviane Reding; and for Transport and Energy, Loyola de Palacio.
Everyone was present and ready. At 9 a.m. on Friday, March 15, the proceedings kicked off with a speech by the President of the European Parliament, Pat Cox. The discussions began with analyses of the economic situation, the European strategy for economic and social modernization, and a debate on the coordination of economic policies.
They also discussed the Major Guidelines for Economic Policy for 2002, the sustainable development strategy, improvements in business competitiveness, and elements of the Social Agenda. The key topics were the European employment strategy and, subsequently, market integration. This included discussions on financial markets, along with the opening and interconnection of energy, transport, and telecommunications markets. The third section covered education and the European research and development area.
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