Our aim is not to use European employment programmes to conceal the Member States' failings, but to adapt and develop the concept of a coordinated employment strategy as a way of achieving technological and employment-friendly regeneration in Europe.

At the Lisbon summit (23-24 March 2000) the EU fixed a new strategic target for the next decade: the EU was to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economic area in the world. To achieve this goal, three elements have been combined to form a global strategy: the development of a knowledge-based economy is to be speeded up, the European social model is to be modernised, and a macro-economic policy mix of full employment, job productivity, social cohesion and social integration, tailored towards achieving mutually agreed objectives, is to be applied. The transition to a digital knowledge-based economy is expected to give a huge boost to growth, competitiveness and employment. We take the view, however, that in broadening the communications base the necessary infrastructure must be made available to all, and participants must have confidence that their interests are being protected when the new communications tools are used. The EPP therefore wants to ensure that businesses and individuals have fairly-priced access to communications infrastructure and that their interests are protected against computer espionage.

Although the EU has said that full employment is the main aim of all its economic and social policies, the high level of unemployment, particularly among young people, and the lower level of employment among older people clearly indicate that Europe's employment potential is far from fully exploited. This is why reforms of employment and labour market policy need to be stepped up, obstacles preventing people from taking jobs must be eliminated and active employment measures must be promoted, with more intensive individual support provided for the out-of-work to improve their employability and prevent them from becoming long-term unemployed. If we are to make progress towards achieving the targets of full employment and social cohesion, the relationship between earned income and unemployment benefit should be such that it offers people incentives to enter the labour market and promotes job creation.

In order to meet the challenge presented by the ageing population, everyone must be more involved in the labour market and it must be made easier for older workers to stay in work voluntarily. This is why early retirement can no longer be seen as the immediate answer to firms' restructuring problems. Older workers must be given the opportunity of remaining in work by being offered more flexible working hours and continuing training. We need to make the most of the experience that our older fellow citizens possess. The employment measures mentioned earlier should therefore also include reform of the old-age pension systems to promote voluntary, gradual and flexible retirement and allow active participation in public, social and cultural life so that people can have an active old age.

In addition, the labour market must be modernised, our social security systems extended so that they provide appropriate protection but also offer incentives to work, life-long learning must be supported and promoted in order to make the knowledge society a reality, and measures must be promoted which stimulate jobs in businesses instead of obstructing them. Our aim must be to create better and higher-quality jobs that allow people to express their personalities rather than stifle them. The only way that we in Europe can survive in a globalised labour market is if we constantly provide continuing training to improve the quality of work. In modernising the way work is organised, improving the quality of work and providing vocational and further training and access to employment, the social partners too share the responsibility for ensuring that a balance is found between flexibility and job security and that businesses are more adaptable.

Businesses provide the most jobs, which is why we urgently need to improve the business environment. This includes modernising the rules on competition and simplifying and improving the regulatory environment. The EU and the Member States must work harder to ensure that the legislation and administrative procedures that affect businesses and consumers at Community, national and regional levels are simplified and modernised. Because of the existing rules and regulations it takes longer in Europe than anywhere else in the world for an idea to be transformed into a saleable product that is ready for the market. Better incentives must also be provided to set up businesses, obstacles concerning the right of establishment for natural and legal persons and the provision of services must be removed and access to venture capital made considerably easier. Greater efforts must be made to promote innovation, research and development and entrepreneurship, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), because these are the ones which have the greatest demand for labour.

Men and women in the EU are still not equally represented in all spheres of life. Reality has yet to catch up with the legislation here, because although a legal framework exists for gender equality in all areas of life, in practice there is still a lot to be done. Even today women still earn less on average than men in comparable jobs, working women still bear the main responsibility for looking after the home and bringing up children, and women are still under-represented in some occupations and over-represented in the lower wage groups. Measures therefore need to be taken to make it easier for women to access the labour market and remain in permanent employment, and to prevent discrimination.

The EPP therefore calls for

• § action programmes which improve women's job opportunities both as employees and in setting up businesses and becoming self-employed,
• § measures to enable women to combine home and working life, particularly by increasing the number of establishments providing childcare and care for other dependent family members,
• § greater participation of women in skills improvement measures, and mandatory requirements to eliminate discrimination against women in the workplace.

Jobs are often lost when undertakings move outside the EU. Pressure from international competition means that fiscal policy needs to be slimmed down and substantially simplified. We need to return to a situation where it pays to work or to take the risk of becoming self-employed or setting up your own business.

We want everyone to be able to find fulfilment in their work, and everyone wanting to work to be able to find a job. In order to achieve this the rigidity of the labour market, which we have described, needs to be eliminated through innovative ideas and measures. Let's make a start.

Klaus Kellersmann