Third report on economic and social cohesion

Background and further information:

Economic growth in the EU has slowed appreciably over the three years since the publication of the last Cohesion Report. As a result, unemployment has risen again in many parts of the Union with all the social implications which this entails. The sluggish performance of the EU economy over the long-term, however, suggests that there are more fundamental problems that need to be overcome if growth is to be sustained at an acceptable rate in future years.

These problems are reflected in the low growth of productivity in the EU in recent years, especially as compared with the US. Unlike in the Union, growth in the US has accelerated as innovation has increased and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) widened. At the same time, up until the 2001 recession, employment growth was generally higher than in the EU and a large number of people of working age were in employment, In consequence, income per head in the US has remained some 30% above the EU level.

If growth in the EU is to be sustained once recovery gets underway, investment in physical and human capital needs to be increased, innovation needs to be stepped up and ICT more widely used to boost productivity and employment. This, however, needs to happen not just in central parts where productivity and employment are highest and innovative capacity most developed but throughout the Union.
The third report on economic and social cohesion was published by the European Commission in February 2004.

European Commission: Third report on economic and social cohesion [Alternative Link] http://aei.pitt.edu/id/eprint/42151

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