Press Release: ‘An agenda of economic and social renewal for Europe’: the Commission’s contribution to the Lisbon Special European Council

Commission President Romano Prodi has sent to Antonio Guterres, President of the European Union, and to EU Heads of State and Government the Commission's contribution to the Special European Council, Lisbon, 23-24 March 2000. Building on the stable macroeconomic framework that has been achieved, the Commission is proposing to take advantage of the favourable economic outlook in order to: pursue economic reform to prepare Europe for the knowledge economy and strengthen the European social model by investing in people. The Commission believes that Lisbon provides a unique opportunity for a reflection about our longer-term policy orientations setting long-term goals, identifying priorities, establishing targets and dates and defining who does what. As a complement to the legislative process, the Commission proposes to monitor progress using benchmarking and peer review. The Commission hopes that the European Council in Lisbon will endorse these proposals in their entirety.