Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The European Council at its meeting in June adopted the European strategy for jobs and growth, Europe 2020. This includes EU headline targets in the five areas of employment, research and development, climate change, education and social inclusion. The targets represent shared objectives covering the action of the member States and the Union. Some, notably those on greenhouse gas emissions, have a basis in EU legislation. The majority are not binding in the regulatory sense, but they constitute a common aim and the combination of monitoring, reporting, scoreboards and peer pressure should contribute to their realisation.

The focus has now shifted to the work which must be undertaken, at both national and EU level, to ensure the strategy is successfully implemented. Essentially this means translating all EU headline targets into national targets. Member states, including Ireland, must now work over the coming months to agree national targets and identify potential bottlenecksI might mention here that we have already exceeded the target of 40% of 30 to 40 year-olds having completed tertiary or equivalent levels of education and our school drop-out rate at 11.3% is close to the set target of 10%.

A series of bilateral dialogues organised by the Presidency and the Commission with each member state has taken place to discuss with member states how they intend to translate these targets and identify national specificities. These meetings enabled member states to point to specific national situations influencing the national target-setting. This work is expected to be completed by member states in their national reform programmes this autumn which will see the strategy's translation into definitive commitments and national targets. Throughout this process, a co-operative approach will be taken between the Commission and the member states to ensure the targets which are set are both attainable and take into account the particular circumstances of each member state.

Both the European Council and the European Commission will play an important role in monitoring the implementation of the strategy. Effective monitoring of the strategy will be key to its successful implementation. The European Commission will monitor annually the situation on the basis of a set of indicators which will be developed to show overall progress towards the objective of a smart, green and inclusive economy delivering high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion.

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