JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER Prime Minister of Luxembourg and President of the European Council
European Roadmap For Businesses: 'Towards A Sustainable And Competitive Enterprise'
	The European Council will convene to review and relaunch the Lisbon Strategy. Five years ago, the European Union set itself ambitious goals to become the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world. The mid-term review will have to admit that the results are far from straightforward, even if some achievements are real.
The Lisbon Strategy is about more than competitiveness. Our first and foremost objective is the preservation of the European social model as we know it. The Lisbon Strategy is not about abandoning it. The reforms the European Council will discuss are, on the contrary, necessary steps to ensure that the largest number possible of Europeans will continue to benefit from the European social model. Reforms will also ensure that their children too will profit from it without having to carry an unbearable burden. Competitiveness is not a goal as such of economic policy. It is only a tool, a crucial tool to assure social cohesion and the wellbeing of the people. Today, it is however undeniable that Europe has fallen behind its competitors in the globalised economy in terms of competitiveness. As far as social cohesion and environmental policies are concerned, Europe is in contrast leading the world by example. For the Lisbon Strategy to succeed, it will not suffice for heads of government to proclaim new resolutions in Brussels. The key to success will lie in its effective implementation at the national level. The Luxembourg Presidency will therefore submit a proposal to the European Council that all Member States will henceforth establish National Action Plans to implement the Lisbon objectives. One crucial condition for success will be for national stakeholders to take ownership of the Lisbon objectives. National parliaments will obviously have an important role to play. But maybe even more so will businesses and trade unions. It’s only if all involved fully embrace the Lisbon Strategy, that Europe will really advance to become a highly competitive knowledge-based economy. By 2010, the change of direction towards a knowledge-based society must be clearly recognisable. In this light, we will bring the Lisbon Strategy more in line with other European processes and tighten its objectives. Furthermore, we will plead for improved communication on the strategy. Business will have a central role if the Lisbon Strategy is to be a success. Indeed, business needs to participate in the debate on European competitiveness and sustainable development. It is encouraging to see, that the European business community supporting CSR Europe embraces the objectives of the Strategy and in particular the necessity of maintaining an overall balance between economic growth, social matters and the environment. This balance is a necessary condition to ensure sustainable development, be it as a business, a nation or a continent. Corporate social responsibility is an important tool to advance this cause. Ten years ago, European businesses heeded Jacques Delors’ call by agreeing the European Business Declaration Against Social Exclusion. Today, I congratulate for the adoption of the new European Manifesto on CSR "A European Roadmap for Businesses" sharing the goals of the Lisbon Agenda. It is reassuring that business leaders in Europe recognize that there is a European way to do business, and that sustainability is more than a fashion. Its fundamental principles will remain valid. Not only because it is the right thing to do. Also because, to put it plainly, it’s good for business.