“Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel has negotiated an excellent outcome with very concrete commitments for the EU”, said Federal Minister of Economics and Labour Martin Bartenstein, commenting on the results of the spring summit in Brussels. He congratulated the Chancellor who, together with his team, had shown that the Austrian Presidency is able to achieve concrete results and set the direction for the future of the EU, even under difficult conditions.
He welcomed the fact that the Heads of State and Government had agreed the objective of creating 2 million additional jobs a year until 2010. The summit had thereby endorsed the Austrian Presidency’s priority goal of facilitating more growth and thus creating more jobs in Europe. Moreover, in the area of research and development, they had for the first time succeeded in breaking down the overall R & D goal for the EU into national goals.
According to Bartenstein, the summit has delivered the backing of the Heads of State and Government for the Services Directive. This was a significant milestone on the way to early implementation of the Directive, which is of crucial importance for Europe. The Austrian Presidency thus had green light for a Services Directive based on the vote in Parliament. Bartenstein said he would now work to drive forward the political agreement.
Bartenstein also welcomed the Heads of State and Government’s clear commitment to a new European energy policy with the involvement of the Member States on the basis of the Green Paper. By agreeing concrete goals, they had given clear backing to prioritising renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. Another important aspect, he said, was that the EU would in future have a united front in external energy relations. He therefore welcomed the decision to mandate the Commission, together with the High Representative Javier Solana, to work out the cornerstones of a common external energy policy by June.
Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour
Office of the Minister: Holger Fürst, Tel.: (01) 711 00-5193
Press section: Harald Hoyer, Tel.: (01) 711 00-5130
mailto: presseabteilung@bmwa.gv.at
Internet: http://www.bmwa.gv.at
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