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Since 2005 ESA has been working with large multinational companies for the Earth Observation Support for Corporate Sustainable Development Reporting project to help them improve their environmental performance.

Environment has become really important for companies so that they regularly issue environmental audits of their Corporate Sustainable Development (CSD) activities. They need accurate and timely information on the state of the environment, which Earth Observation (EO) from space can provide.

Under the project, Hatfield Consultants, an environmental consultancy firm based in Canada, worked with Shell Canada and Albian Sands Energy to provide EO-based geo-information to support environmental management and monitoring related to the exploitation of their Athabasca oil sands located in the north of the province of Alberta.

According to the Sustainable Development Integration Manager at Shell Canada, the satellite images present clear, accessible visuals, provide objective information on development and eventual reclamation of their oil sands leases and help them in their reporting on environmental performance.

Eyes in the sky

EO provides objective coverage across both space and time, EO images show the world through a wide-enough frame so that complete large-scale phenomena can be observed with great accuracy. Satellites also remain in place for long periods, making them able to highlight environmental changes occurring gradually.

The focus of the satellite data used in this project was to help quantify habitat change in various ways and to understand how a habitat may be influenced by the oil sand operations.

ESA’s Envisat satellite acquired eight Full Resolution images with its optical instrument, Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), covering the entire northern oil sand region, from 2004 to 2006. Envisat’s Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument acquired three alternating polarisation images, one in 2004 and two in 2006. SPOT-5 acquired five multi-spectral images of the same region, an area of approximately 18 000 sq km, in 2006.

Knowledge sharing

The EO information is not only valuable for corporate environmental management purposes, but can also provide local residents with unbiased information regarding the impact of developments in their communities.

Source Innovation

(Feb 28). ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and European Commission Director General for Enterprise and Industry Heinz Zourek signed in Brussels an agreement which establishes the allocation of an EC budget of 624 million euros to ESA as a contribution to the implementation of the GMES Space Component (GSC)

This will be provided in two stages: 419 million euros for Segment 1 and 205 million euros for Segment 2 of the GSC programme. Segment 2 will be submitted for subscription by ESA’s Member States at next November’s ministerial-level Council meeting.

“This marks a further step in the growing partnership process that sees ESA and the EC develop joint programmes for the benefit of all citizens in Europe. Within the framework agreement that links the European Community and ESA, and in accordance with the European Space Policy adopted in May 2007, ESA will develop and deliver the space infrastructure (the Sentinels) which will respond to the requirements defined by the EC concerning the GMES services dedicated to environment and security, two of the main concerns of our fellow citizens”, said Jean-Jacques Dordain.

It is worth recalling that ESA Member States have already raised (in two phases: 2005 and 2007) 758 million euros for Segment 1.

This agreement, together with the financial contributions from ESA Member States, will enable ESA to develop and launch the first three Sentinel satellites (Sentinel-1, -2 and -3), to set up the related ground segment for the reception, processing and dissemination to users of the satellite data (from the Sentinels and other satellites) and to undertake the development of further elements to come.

Policies addressing environment and security are currently high up on the European agenda. Users and decision-makers need operational information services to effectively manage our planet’s environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security for Europe’s citizens.

GMES will provide accurate, up-to-date and globally-available information on an operational basis to European, national, regional and local entities, enabling them to develop services and applications related to land, sea/ocean and atmospheric monitoring as well as to emergency response and security.

Commission Vice-President Gunter Verheugen, responsible for Enterprise and Industry, commented: “Improved GMES capabilities are of paramount importance for our environment and security policies. I welcome today’s agreement, because citizens have a right to live safely and to have reliable information on the environment. Moreover, the agreement opens up enormous opportunities for our industry, including SMEs.”

Global Monitoring for Environment and Security is a European Union-led initiative organised in partnership with the European Space Agency to combine ground and space-based observations to develop an integrated environmental monitoring capability. The progressive implementation of GMES is made possible by the activities and investments of EU and ESA Member States. This is the second flagship initiative of the European Space Policy, following in the footsteps of the navigation system Galileo.

Based on the European Space Policy, for GMES in particular, the EU is taking the lead in identifying and bringing together user needs and in aggregating the political will in support of wider policy objectives. It will ensure the availability and continuity of operational services supporting its policies. It is contributing to the development, deployment and operation of corresponding European space infrastructure, making maximum use of existing and planned assets available to Europe, including those of EUMETSAT.

ESA’s role here is to implement the dedicated GMES Space Component, which involves developing the Sentinel satellite series and its ground segment, coordinating data access to the Sentinels and to other missions mainly from ESA Member States that contribute to fulfilling GMES service requirements.

Sentinel-1 is an all-weather, day-and-night radar imaging satellite mission for land and ocean services; Sentinel-2 is a high-resolution optical imaging mission for land services; Sentinel-3 is for a global ocean and land monitoring mission which includes an altimetry instrument package.

Source ESA

The role of Earth Observation satellites in combating climate change was highlighted at the United Nations climate change conference in Bali (3-14 December 2007) where thousands of delegates from more than 180 countries were gathered to begin negotiations of an international emissions-cutting agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

The Protocol commits its signatories to reduce levels of greenhouse gases believed to be increasing global warming. Around 25 billion tonnes of extra carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere annually by human activities, mainly through burning of fossil fuels, land clearance and wildfires.

Because deforestation in tropical rainforests accounts for as much as 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, finding ways to curb or halt deforestation was high on the conference’s agenda. One scheme under consideration, called Reduced Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD), involves developed countries offsetting their emissions by paying developing countries for every hectare of forest they do not cut down.

In order for this scheme to work, systematic monitoring of forests will be crucial.

UNFCCC negotiations in Bali on REDD could offer a crucial opportunity to reduce carbon emissions from tropical peatlands and thus contribute to combating global climate change.

In the future, space-based monitoring tools for tropical deforestation will be available through the EU-led initiative Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES), which from 2011 will begin launching the Sentinel satellites enabling operational monitoring.

Source “GMES.Info2:http://www.gmes.info

For more information

The inaugural assembly of the NEREUS Network (Network of European Regions using space technologies) was held on 18 December 2007 in Toulouse.

Created at the instigation of the Midi-Pyrénées Region, NEREUS aims at creating a forum for dialogue, exchanges and discussion between the Regions and the stakeholders in European space policy, such as the Member States, the European Space Agency, (ESA), the European Commission or the space industry.

So far, 35 regions from 10 EU Member States have already expressed an interest in joining the network and 23 Regions already signed the Political Charter of NEREUS.

The founding members of NEREUS are:
1. Austria: Wien-VBA
2. Belgium: Région Bruxelles Capitale, Région Wallonne
3. France: Alsace, Aquitaine, Bretagne, Midi-Pyrénées, Nord Pas-de- Calais, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
4. Germany: Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
5. Italy: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Lombardia, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Toscana, Veneto
6. Poland: Mazovieckie Voivodeship
7. Portugal: Açores, Madeira
8. Slovakia: Kosice, Presov
9. Spain: Aragon, Catalunya, Madrid
10. United-Kingdom: East Midlands

Because Regions are both end-users and data-providers, they are of great relevance when it comes to the development and experimentation of new applications and services. They will also be key actors to ensure the sustainability of GMES.
It took more than a year to give a concrete form to this initiative triggered by the Midi-Pyrénées Region and welcomed by the European Commission, especially by the GMES Bureau. One of the overall objectives of NEREUS is to federate the great diversity of European Regions.

More information at NEREUS

Source GMES.Info

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding today aimed at strengthening cooperation on remote sensing of the Earth, particularly in the field of disaster preparedness and response.

Key benefits that this collaboration will provide to the global community include protection for the dedicated radio frequencies that remote-sensing satellites and Earth-based monitors use for gathering high-quality data on the global environment, the improved application of Earth observations to disaster management, and increased capacity building in developing countries for the effective use of Earth observations in decision-making.

“Efficient telecommunications services are fundamentally important to both the collection and dissemination of Earth observation data and information,” said José Achache, Director of the GEO secretariat. “The observation and telecommunications communities are natural partners, and by working more closely together we can strengthen the international response to disasters, environmental degradation and other global risks.”

Growing demand by the internet, cellular phone networks and other users of radio frequencies has raised the spectre of competition over limited bandwidth. However, last month’s ITU World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva decided to maintain the existing bandwidth allocated to Earth observations. This will ensure the proper functioning of observation instruments by preventing other users of radio frequencies from unintentionally interfering with Earth observation applications, particularly satellite measurements.

Recognizing this, a Ministerial Summit organized by GEO on 30 November in South Africa adopted the Cape Town Declaration, which includes the statement: “We welcome the resolution of the World Radio Conference–07 on radio communication use for Earth observation applications and the support it provides for the international protection and long term availability of frequencies for terrestrial, oceanic, air-borne and space-based observations.”

GEO and the ITU share a commitment to reducing the loss of life and property from natural and human-induced disasters. When disaster looms, rapid access to weather forecasts, data on land and ocean conditions, maps of transport links and hospitals, and information on socio-economic variables can save uncounted lives. When integrated with other information, observations can help planners reduce vulnerability, strengthen preparedness and early-warning measures and, after disaster strikes, rebuild housing and infrastructure in ways that limit future risks.

The Cape Town Declaration therefore also recognized “the important contribution that GEO can make through collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union to promote, by the appropriate alerting authorities, the implementation of the international standard for all-media public warning across all disaster and emergency situations”.

“Reducing the impact of disasters requires strong coordination between telecommunications and Earth observations along the full chain of actions, from disaster preparedness to forecasts, warnings, crisis management, and recovery,” said Mr. Achache.

The two intergovernmental bodies are also active in the field of capacity building and aim to complement and reinforce each other’s efforts. Individuals need training on how to access and use Earth observation data and decision-support tools. Governments and institutions need long-term programmes that build their capacity to make decisions based on Earth observations, manage and protect natural resources and engage the private sector in these activities. Infrastructure investments are essential for upgrading and inter-linking hardware and software for acquiring, processing, interpreting and distributing observation data.

Two key infrastructure investments that illustrate the critical role of telecommunications in Earth observations are the China Brazil Earth Resources Satellite Programme (CBERS), which broadcasts observation free of charge directly to ground stations, and GEONETCast, a system of four communications satellites that transmits data to low-cost receivers maintained by users.

The Group on Earth Observations was established in 2005 after the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the Group of Eight leading industrialized countries (G8) and three ministerial Earth Observation Summits all called for improving existing observation systems. It now boasts over 70 member countries and 46 participating organizations.

GEO is coordinating the construction of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) that will link together diverse monitoring networks, instruments, data bases and models and other decisionsupport tools.

GEOSS addresses nine priorities of critical importance to the future of the human race. It aims to help us protect ourselves against natural and human-induced disasters, understand the environmental sources of health hazards, manage energy resources, respond to climate change and its impacts, safeguard freshwater resources, improve weather forecasts, manage ecosystems, promote sustainable agriculture, and conserve biodiversity.

For more information click here

Source: GEO

Commission in December 1992 in order to improve the monitoring of the economic performance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. Its task is to provide information on SMEs to policy-makers, researchers, economists and SMEs themselves.

2007 Observatory survey

This latest Observatory survey was carried out end of 2006 and early 2007 in the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU), as well as in Norway, Iceland and Turkey – in the countries participating in the Multiannual Programme for Enterprise & Entrepreneurship. It included for the first time large-scaled enterprises (employing at least 250 persons) in its sample, to allow an identification of the specific performances, behaviours and problems of SMEs. Altogether, 16 339 SMEs (17 283 enterprises in total) were interviewed. The survey was primarily enquiring general characteristics of firms active in the countries surveyed, perceptions on business constraints, competition and human resources problems and data on internationalisation and innovation.

In this way, it provides an empirical foundation for the design of SME policies – which are one of the key components of the revised Lisbon Strategy – at the national and the EU level.

The main findings are:

1. Exports

Fewer than one in ten EU SMEs (8%) reported turnover from exports, which is significantly lower than the respective share of large enterprises (28%). The main export obstacle for SMEs is the lack of knowledge of foreign markets (13% of exporting SMEs mentioned this as their prime obstacle), followed by import tariffs in destination countries and the lack of capital (both 9%).

2. Relocation/subsidiaries abroad

Only 5% of EU SMEs have reported that they have subsidiaries or joint ventures abroad. These foreign business partnerships seem to have a positive direct impact on employment in the home countries of EU SMEs: 49% of the involved SMEs confirmed that their partnership does not affect employment in their home country, while 18% reported that it increases and 3% that it decreases their respective employment in the home country. The main reason for SMEs to invest abroad is the geographic proximity as supplier to other enterprises.

3. Strategies against increasing competition

While two thirds of SMEs in the EU believe that competition in their markets has increased over the past two years, the primary strategy of SMEs to face increasing competition is the improvement of product quality; increasing working hours, looking for new markets abroad, and especially cutting production are seen as last resort strategies.

4. Innovation: New products in enterprise portfolio

About 3 in 10 SMEs indicated that they have new products or that they do have income from new products. The share of SMEs which reported innovations is higher in the old EU Member States than in the new Member States.

5. Barriers to innovation

SMEs regard four factors as constituting equally important barriers to innovation: problems in access to finance, scarcity of skilled labour, a lack of market demand and the high cost of human resources.

6. Energy efficiency

Comprehensive systems for energy efficiency are much less in place in SMEs (4%) than in large enterprises (19%); the same applies for simple measures to save energy, which are used by 30% of SMEs but 46% of large enterprises.

7. Dependency from regional markets

The survey confirms that SMEs (89%) are much more dependant on the regional labour market than large enterprises (77%).

8. Availability of an appropriate workforce

More than half of SME managers said that they have recruitment problems. A primary problem is the availability of an appropriate workforce; excessive wage demands are a relatively distant second issue. Finding and hiring the appropriate workforce is a challenge for many SMEs in the EU. Especially in the new Member States, a significant number of jobs remain unfilled.

9. Administrative regulations

Beyond the limitations of the demand side, the most important individual business constraint reported by SMEs is the compliance with administrative regulations; 36% of EU SMEs reported that this issue constrained their business activities over the past two years. This judgement is linked to the appraisal that 44% of SMEs consider themselves as operating in an over-regulated environment. Furthermore, SMEs perceive an overall deterioration in terms of administrative regulations.

More info and documets at
EUROPA

New ways to monitor the Earth’s ailing health will top the menu this week at a gathering of ministers and officials from over 100 governments and international bodies in Cape Town.

The three-day meeting starting Wednesday and organised by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) will review progress in the global integration of national environmental monitoring systems.

“Concerned that climate change, deforestation, desertification, water scarcity and other human-induced pressures risk causing an environmental collapse, governments are collaborating through the (GEO) to secure comprehensive and near-real-time information about changes in the Earth’s land, oceans, atmosphere and biosphere,” said a statement by the GEO secretariat.

“This will be achieved by interlinking the world’s ocean buoys, weather stations, satellites and other Earth observation instruments into one fully coordinated system.”

The resulting GEO System of Systems (GEOSS) should enable countries to reduce their vulnerability to environmental change and disasters and improve their management of agricultural, energy and other resources.

The meeting will assess 100 “early achievements” in a ten-year plan running to 2015, the statementsaid.

These include the first steps towards a global drought early warning system and the introduction of daily fire danger maps for Africa.

“Climate change cuts across and encompasses many other issues, including disaster management, biodiversity loss, food security, and emerging health risks,” said Jose Achache, director of the GEO secretariat.

“Adapting to these expected impacts will require sophisticated environmental intelligence on how the Earth system responds to both climate change and adaptation policies.”

The GEO meeting would be attended by representatives of 72 national governments, the European Commission and 46 international organsiations.

It opens a few days before a UN Climate Change Conference on the Indonesian island of Bali.

“The GEOSS will revolutionise the way decision-makers craft both national and international policy,” said Achache.

“This emerging public infrastructure could prove as essential to economic and social progress in the 21st century as new transport and communications systems were in the 20th.”

Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its starkest warning yet on global warming, saying no country would be spared its “abrupt or irreversible” impact.

It warned that global average surface temperatures could rise by between 1,1$deg;C and 6,4°C by 2100, and sea levels by at least 18 centimetres.

Heatwaves, rainstorms, tropical cyclones and surges in sea level would become more frequent, more widespread and more intense, the group said.

More info at GEO

Frequently asked questions

Part One: The Commission’s December 2007 Strategic Report

What are the main conclusions of the Commission’s report?

First, European and national level reforms are delivering results and contributing to growth and jobs at present and for the future. The national Implementation Reports demonstrate that Member States have taken many of the necessary steps to implement their programmes and to reinforce them in the light of the Commission’s assessment last year and of the European Council’s commitments.

Second, it is essential that Member States implement outstanding reforms. Although there is a broad consensus on what needs to be done, the pace of delivery has been uneven. Not all Member States have undertaken reforms with equal determination. Reforms in some areas, such as opening up energy and services markets and tackling labour market segmentation, have lagged behind. Some signs of “reform fatigue” have become apparent over the last twelve months.

Third, both the EU and Member states will need to implement further reforms to sustain solid economic growth in the future and help the EU withstand adverse developments in the global economy. For the EU level, action is needed on key priorities, including a Small Business Act, the creation of a European Research Area and an affordable patent system, and closing further gaps in the Single Market in the services and energy industries

What are the main new policy elements in the package? What proposals is the Commission making to the Spring European Council?

The Strategic Report calls on EU leaders at the 2008 Spring European Council to give fresh impetus by agreeing a limited number of high-impact actions in the four priority areas and then by ensuring their governments follow up those commitments.

These include: increasing high-speed internet access to achieve a 30% connection rate of the EU population and connection of all schools by 2010; setting national targets and policies to raise the basic skills of young people and reduce early school leaving; adopting a comprehensive European Small Business Act; improving framework conditions for innovation through an integrated patent jurisdiction and a single affordable patent; completing the internal market for energy; setting mandatory energy reduction targets for government buildings; and systematically including energy efficiency as the one of the award criteria for public procurement.

The package also reinforces the external dimension, combining openness with the legitimate defence of the European interest. Dialogue with third countries will be strengthened and streamlined, with a clearer focus on globalisation issues of mutual interest such as regulatory convergence, migration and climate change. In future the Commission will adopt a single annual report on market access, identifying countries and sectors where significant barriers remain.

The new and innovative Community Lisbon Programme focuses more clearly on the EU’s own contribution to the four priority action areas referred to above. It includes among its 10 key objectives, in addition to contributing at European level to achievement of the new goals the Commission is asking the Spring European Council to endorse: the rapid adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of the Commission’s “blue card” proposal for a skills-based immigration policy; further steps to integrate EU financial services markets and enhance their stability in the light of the current turbulence; and the promotion of a sustainable industrial policy.

Does this reinforcement of the Strategy set out in the Report require amendments to the Integrated Guidelines?

No. The above reinforcements do not require amendment of the Integrated Guidelines agreed unanimously by Member States in 2005, so the Commission is proposing those Guidelines should be unchanged for the next cycle. However, the text accompanying them is amended in order to reflect the changes of emphasis.

The package makes clear in particular the need for an even higher priority for the social dimension, education and skills, information and communication technologies, flexicurity, energy and climate change.

What do this year’s country specific recommendations cover?

The recommendations the Commission is proposing primarily cover areas already signalled as needing further attention last year such as fiscal consolidation, financial sustainability, labour market reforms, competition in network industries and services, investment in R&D and improving the regulatory environment. A proposed recommendation signifies that in the Commission’s view, though there may have been some progress, the Member State concerned still needs to reinforce or speed up its efforts in this area.

On the basis of a Commission proposal, the Council adopted the country specific recommendations in March 2007. Structural reforms take time to implement and only a preliminary assessment can take place at this stage. On this basis, the report maintains most of last year’s country specific recommendations and points to watch.

A full set of the recommendations is available in MEMO/07/569.

What exactly are the changes to the country specific recommendations this year?

In most cases, steps have been taken towards meeting the commitments contained in the country specific recommendations agreed collectively by the Member States last year. However, more remains to be done and most of these recommendations remain in place. In a few cases – Germany, Italy and Spain – the number of recommendations has decreased while for Slovakia, last year’s recommendation on tackling long-term unemployment has been replaced with a recommendation to improve the regulatory environment. No Member States have additional country specific recommendations. The conclusions of each country chapter are collected in MEMO/07/569.

What is the evidence that the brighter economic outlook is due to reforms implemented under the Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy?

The Lisbon reforms have not been the only factor. But there is strong evidence from the Commission’s economic modelling that they have made an important contribution and can make a bigger one in the future. What is more, reforms have helped increase the underlying potential estimated growth rate of GDP in the euro zone by 0.2% since 2005 to some 2.25% in 2007: in other words to improve the long-term prospects for prosperity. A more complete analysis is available in the Annex to the Strategic Progress Report.

Is the Commission proposing recommendations for every Member State?

No. For a small number of Member States [Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden], the Commission did not propose country specific recommendations in its 2006 report. For this year, there have been no major development which would warrant country specific recommendations for these Member States. However, in the country chapters covering these Member States, as in all the others, the Commission points to policy areas on which it will be particularly important to focus over the next couple of years.

What are the conclusions of the chapter on the euro area?

The chapter concludes that the euro area countries have engaged in substantive structural reforms to tackle their economic, social and environmental challenges, although some have responded more robustly to some challenges than others. Although important for all EU Member States, structural reforms are especially relevant for the economies in the euro area. Primarily aimed at creating more growth and jobs, structural reforms also enhance integration and the adaptability of euro area economies and synchronise its business cycles.

Overall, in which policy areas is more progress most needed?

Although there has been some good progress on reducing budget deficits, the opportunity to use the relatively strong growth conditions to reduce structural deficits further has not been fully seized, especially in the euro area.

Europe is still lagging behind other leading economies both in investment in information and communication technologies and in terms of their use to enhance productivity.

Opening up network industries and services to competition has been slow and important obstacles to market entry remain. Some Member States lag behind with the implementation of internal market directives.

There have been important steps forward in implementing the EU’s better regulation agenda but some Member States need to do more to reduce administrative burdens and improve the business environments.

Almost 6.5 million new jobs have been created in EU-27 in the last two years with 5 million jobs expected to be created up to 2009. Yet, many labour markets remain segmented, with well-protected insiders and more precarious outsiders on contracts with uncertain prospects.

About half of the Member States have developed – or are developing – policies on the basis of a flexicurity approach. Yet the policy response remains fragmented.

While it is encouraging that Member States have now set ambitious targets to increase R&D spending, the real proportion of GDP spent on R&D in the EU has failed to keep up with recent stronger economic growth and decreased from 2.0 % of GDP in 2000 to 1.85 % of GDP in 2006, with large differences between Member States. This moves the Community further away from the EU target of 3%, although recent policy reforms aiming at boosting R&D spending will take some time to feed through.

Which Member States are doing best?

The Commission does not want to take a “Eurovision song contest” approach and rank Member States. This serves no purpose and would depend on subjective judgements, given that it is not current performance but future potential that is key. But it is encouraging to note three trends that have continued since last year.

First, those Member States which rank highly in current international competitiveness tables, for example the Nordic countries and Ireland, are resisting the temptation to rest on their laurels. They are aware that continuing to reform now is the key to maintaining their performance in the future.

Second, those larger economies whose success is particularly important in creating prosperity elsewhere in the Union – France, Germany, UK, Italy and Spain – have all moved forward, albeit from different baselines and at different stages of implementation.

Third, while most still have much work to do to catch up, those Member States that joined in 2004 are also moving forward, with visible increases in their standard of living, though again the pace of progress varies.

Which Member States are doing badly?

All Member States deserve credit for having made progress, often in challenging political circumstances. It would not be accurate or useful to point the finger and say a particular Member State is doing badly. But as in previous years there are big differences in the depth and pace of reform. It is crucial over time to close this gap because all of our economies are interdependent. Prosperity in one creates prosperity in others. We are moving gradually in the right direction, towards a situation where every Member State performs to its full potential, but still have a long way to go.

Has there been progress in investing European regional funding in achieving Lisbon Strategy goals?

Yes. Programmes analysed for the Communication “Regions Delivering Lisbon through Innovation and Cohesion Policy 2007-2013”, which forms part of the package, are an encouraging statement of intent: less developed regions (Convergence Objective) plan to invest 65% of funds available to them on Lisbon-oriented priorities, and the others (Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective) have earmarked 82% of their investment, exceeding targets in both cases. Innovation is a major theme, and features strongly in Cohesion Policy programmes. Keeping up the momentum in policy debate on innovation is a key objective.

What happens after the Strategic Report?

As usual, the Report will be submitted to EU leaders at the Spring European Council which will adopt conclusions on the way forward. The European Council is asked to endorse the country specific recommendations and the reaffirmed Integrated guidelines which will then be formally adopted by the Council. The Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs is built on a partnership approach, which recognises that, to address the common challenges, each level needs to play its full part. Therefore the action proposed in the Report will need to be implemented both by Member States and at Community level, where the new Community Lisbon Programme already reflects this need.

Further Implementation Reports will be prepared by Member States by October 2008. The Commission will present its 2008 Annual Progress Report around the turn of next year.

Part Two: Background

What is the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs?

The European Union’s Lisbon Strategy to modernize Europe was first agreed in 2000 and relaunched in 2005, with a clearer focus on growth and jobs. The Strategy is based on a consensus among Member States and organised around 3 year cycles. It is now making a strong contribution to Europe’s current economic upturn.

If the EU makes the right economic reforms now, it can secure a prosperous, fair and environmentally sustainable future for Europe. It can ensure that our economies are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalisation. It can put Europe in a strong position to cope with demographic changes that will mean more older people and fewer young people of working age in our societies.

How does the Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy work?

It is based on a close partnership, with a clear division of responsibilities and a strong emphasis on maximising the synergies between the Community and the national levels and between different economic policy areas. Member States undertake reforms at national level based on National Reform Programmes presented in 2006 and based on the policy guidelines (“Integrated Guidelines”) agreed collectively by all Member States in 2005 and due for review in 2008. These National Reform Programmes cover a three-year period.

Each year, Member States produce reports on the implementation of their National Reform Programmes. The latest implementation reports were presented in October 2007.

All Member States have appointed Lisbon Co-ordinators (“Mr or Mrs Lisbon”) charged with driving the strategy forward in their own Member State and involving stakeholders in its implementation. The Commission assists, monitors and assesses this national level reform process.

In conjunction with this, a programme for European level reform – the Community Lisbon Programme – is implemented.

Furthermore, the 2006 Spring European Council agreed four priority areas as the pillars of the renewed Strategy (knowledge and innovation, unlocking business potential, investing in people and modernising labour markets, energy/climate change).

It also agreed on a number of actions, such as making it possible anywhere in the EU to start-up a business within one week or less. Progress on these actions has been good.

In March 2007, the Spring European Council took a further important step by endorsing country specific recommendations – proposed by the Commission in its December 2006 Progress Report – for the first time. These are Treaty based. By endorsing them, Member States have agreed collectively on what each needs to do. The Commission’s assessment of progress at national level focuses – this year and in future – particularly on the implementation of these recommendations and of the other “points to watch” included in the country chapters.

What is the structure of this year’s Report? What are the components of the package?

The first part of the report to the 2008 Spring European Council sets out the Commission’s proposals for taking the Lisbon Strategy forward during the next three years.

The second part consists of an assessment of progress made by each Member State (and the euro area) in the implementation of its National Reform Programme (NRP) and country-specific recommendations, as adopted by Council.

The Commission’s Strategic Report is based on its assessment of the Member States autumn 2007 Implementation Reports, on its general monitoring of progress and bilateral contacts with Member States, and on the Commission’s own review of progress with the Community Lisbon Programme.

A detailed assessment of progress by policy area can be found in a companion document. The Lisbon package furthermore contains:

* a proposal to update the country-specific recommendations and ‘points to watch’ adopted by the Council in May 2007 (see ;
* a proposal for a Council recommendation to re-affirm the Integrated Guidelines for growth and jobs for the next three-year cycle;
* a renewed Community Lisbon Programme for European level action for growth and jobs, more clearly focused on the four priority areas agreed in 2006: investing in people and modernising labour markets, improving the business environment, especially for SMEs; knowledge (education, R&D and innovation); energy and climate change.
* an analysis on the reorientation of the structural funds in support of growth and jobs.

Why is this year’s report called a Strategic Report, and not an Annual Progress Report as in previous years? What are the differences from last year?

This report marks the transition to a new cycle in the implementation of the Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy, from 2008-2010. It therefore takes stock of progress over three years, draws lessons and proposes policy lines for the next few years – in other words, it has an enhanced strategic component. It also includes proposals for the reaffirmation of the Integrated Guidelines – which have worked well as broad drivers of policy – and for changes to the text accompanying those guidelines, to reflect the need to update the Strategy in the light of experience so far and to respond to changing circumstances.

The other differences from last year are that the Report for the first time includes country assessments for Bulgaria and Romania, and that it is accompanied by a renewed Community Lisbon Programme.

What are the main achievements so far under the Community Lisbon Programme?

The first Community Lisbon Programme for 2005-2008 generated significant results. For example, significant progress has been made towards improving the legal framework of the single market, through the adoption of the Services Directive and the implementation of the Financial Services Action Plan. The Commission has also successfully driven forward its better regulation agenda to cut unnecessary costs and remove obstacles to innovation.

Substantially greater amounts of Community funding have also been made available for growth and jobs. The new regulatory framework for the Cohesion policy programmes will make some €210 billion available for investment in growth and jobs over 2007-13, an increase of over 25% compared to 2000-06. Overall 87 actions of the 102 announced in the original 2005 CLP had been delivered by mid-2007.

How is it possible to assess the performance of “new” and “old” Member States, or large and small ones, according to the same criteria?

It is not possible and we have not tried. We recognise that each Member State has a different starting point and different traditions. We are not assessing their current economic performance as such but progress in implementing and reinforcing their National Reform Programmes – in other words in getting in shape for the future, to take advantage of the opportunities of globalisation and to meet the challenges of ageing populations. Thus, the assessment for each Member State is based on the implementation of their own National Reform Programme.

Is there a correlation between the number of recommendations and how well the Commission thinks a Member State is doing?

Clearly the Commission only proposes a recommendation where it thinks that an important challenge exists and that the Member State concerned needs to step up its efforts to meet that challenge. So if there are several recommendations, this means there are several important challenges. But there is not necessarily a direct correlation between the number of recommendations and the overall level of progress.

Even for Member States with no recommendations, the Commission points out areas where there a particular effort is needed and which therefore could give rise to recommendations in the future. A Member State with one recommendation in a key area may need to address that area particularly urgently, to avoid progress in other areas being held back. And while a Member State with several recommendations clearly faces a range of tough challenges, it may also be doing well in some areas. The country chapters identify significant strengths in every national programme.

Many people are not aware of the Lisbon Strategy. What can be done about this?

The Commission will continue to reinforce its efforts to get the message across – directly or in cooperation with stakeholders – to a wide public that the growth and jobs strategy is a positive vision of wider opportunity, not a message of doom, gloom and austerity.

But for this to succeed, it is essential that Member States also make stronger efforts to inform stakeholders and citizens of the importance of the Growth and Jobs Strategy, and in particular to demonstrate that as a result of the interdependence of Europe’s economies, successful reform in one Member State contributes to prosperity everywhere. All Member States, even those already in the vanguard of reform, have a strong interest in the success of the Strategy.

Within the context of the implementation of the “Communicating Europe in Partnership” Agenda (see IP/07/1435), and in particular in taking forward voluntary management partnerships with those Member States who wish to do so, the Commission will encourage Member States to give a very high priority to the Growth and Jobs Strategy. It will do the same in working with other EU institutions, notably the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.

It will also continue to lay a strong emphasis on consultation, ownership, and communication in evaluating progress at national level. This aspect is covered in every country chapter.

Why is the Strategy now more clearly focused on Growth and Jobs?

Growth is not an end in itself, but it is a prerequisite for being able to maintain and increase Europe’s prosperity and thus for preserving and enhancing our social models.

Growth must be sustainable – while there is sometimes a short-term cost to protecting the environment, in the long term the costs of not tackling environmental issues such as climate change would be far greater.

We need more jobs for two reasons – first because far too many people’s lives are still blighted by unemployment and second because only by getting more people into work can we ensure that our societies cope with demographic change. Older populations mean higher pensions and health care costs and those need to be financed by the working population.

In a nutshell, what are the most important steps for achieving more jobs and growth in Europe?

There are many pieces in the jigsaw puzzle. It is the whole policy mix that counts. We need to make Europe a prosperous, low-carbon society.

That means budgetary sustainability, better regulation and the right tax and benefit systems. We need to improve education and training to allow more people to reach their full potential, for their own sake and that of society as a whole. We need to invest in research to maintain our comparative advantage relative to competing regions.

We need more competition to make sure that research feeds through into real innovation, as companies strive to stay ahead in highly competitive markets. We need to make our economy more adaptable to change and more resistant to external shocks. This need has been further highlighted by the recent trend for high commodity prices and by financial market instability at global level.

We need more people of all ages in employment to finance social spending as our populations age. We need to use energy more efficiently and sustainably and to negotiate better with countries which supply us with energy. We need to tackle climate change at home and act globally to ensure that responsibilities in this are taken worldwide.

All of these things require European and national level reforms.

What are the main targets under the Growth and Jobs Strategy?

Before the 2005 relaunch, there were too many disparate targets. Although Member States are encouraged to set their own targets in several areas, we now have a streamlined and simplified process with only two EU level headline targets,: investment of 3 % of Europe’s GDP in research and development by 2010 and an employment rate (the proportion of Europe’s working age population in employment) of 70% by the same date.

Of course, these are not the only issues that matter – but achieving both is absolutely central to getting our economies into shape for globalisation.

And there is progress towards both of them. All Member States have set ambitious R&D targets and most have undertaken important reforms to help them get there. If all of these targets are met, the EU will reach an R&D level of 2.6% of GDP in 2010 (up from 1.9% in 2005). This would be a significant improvement even if the key EU target of 3% (with the private sector contributing 2%) is only reached later.

Employment rates are expected to rise to around 66% in 2008 compared to 63% in 2004. This leaves us with more work to do to reach the ambitious 70 % target for 2010 but remains important progress.

Has the management of the Strategy always worked in this way?

No. The Strategy was relaunched in 2005. Before that there was more complicated system with a plethora of different targets and reporting mechanisms and fewer synergies between the different strands. Some progress was made but overall the results were not fully satisfactory. So the Commission proposed a relaunch, based broadly on the recommendations of a mid-term review led by former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok. EU leaders agreed to this proposal at the 2005 Spring European Council.

Why do we need a European strategy when many of the necessary measures have to be taken at national level?

Our economies are interdependent. Prosperity in one Member State creates prosperity in others. Sluggishness in one Member State holds others back. So Europeans need to work together to achieve economic reform, sharing policies that work.

In addition, national policies alone are not enough to allow the Growth and Jobs Strategy to succeed. European Union policies are also central to the Strategy. For example, an efficient internal market, the right policies on external trade, the updating and enforcement of EU competition law, well-targeted European research programmes, the effective use of EU Structural and Cohesion funding and the application of EU environmental policies are all crucial to delivering the prosperous and modern society which is the ultimate aim of the Lisbon Strategy. The Community Lisbon Programme sets out the EU-level priorities for the next three years.

What is the Commission’s role in the governance of the Strategy?

First, it proposes the Integrated Guidelines for reform, which are then approved by the Council and form the broad basis for Member States’ National Reform programmes.

Second, in its Annual Progress Report the Commission assesses the content and implementation so far of National Reform Programmes, allowing stakeholders and citizens to see how far each Member State has got.

Third, it works continuously with Member States to help them exchange experience, learn from each other and implement, update, and improve their National Reform Programmes, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses identified in the Annual Progress Report. This role as a catalyst for mutual learning, building consensus that feeds into national as well as European policies is sometimes low profile, but has been central to the Commission’s work since the European Community began.

Last but not least, the Commission ensures through its role in driving forward the Community Lisbon Programme that policy making and funding activities at European level best serve the goals of growth and jobs.

What is the link between the Growth and Jobs Strategy and regional policy and the Structural Funds?

The link between the Growth and Jobs Strategy and the Structural Funds is very close and this is clearly demonstrated by the inclusion in this year’s Strategic Report package of the communication entitled “Regions Delivering Lisbon through Innovation and Cohesion Policy 2007-2013”. This assesses the extent to which new Cohesion Policy programmes aim to move forward the implementation of the renewed Lisbon Strategy, notably by respecting a commitment to earmark funds for growth and jobs.

In a single market, structural and cohesion funding will be spent on procuring works, goods and services from all over the EU. That will benefit all Member States and not just those directly receiving the most substantial amounts of structural funding.

The Commission continues to encourage Member States to ensure that regional aspects are fully taken into account in National Reform Programmes and that regions are consulted on the development of the programmes. This is the case in most Member States.

Is the EU maintaining its target of becoming the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010?

The key aim is getting into a rhythm of high sustainable annual growth and low unemployment by 2010. If, for example, the US does even better that will not mean the EU strategy has failed. Rather, it will be good news for us all. Nevertheless, it is crucial that Europe closes the competitiveness gap with the US – that goes hand in hand with getting the EU in shape to benefit from globalisation.

What matters in the end is that we in Europe can maintain and enhance our quality of life – and that of our children and grandchildren – in the context of globalisation, demographic change and environmental challenges. That is what the Lisbon Strategy is ultimately about. And it is working.

Source EUROPA

The ‘Lisbon Declaration on GMES and Africa’ has been adopted at a meeting of organisations and governmental European and African bodies and entities under the aegis of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Lisbon Declaration falls under the wider framework of the Africa-European Union (EU) Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space of the Africa-EU Action Plan 2008 to 2010. It calls for the first draft of an action plan for establishing the partnership between GMES and Africa to be submitted to EU and African constituencies by the end of 2008.

The European Commission (EC) and the Commission of the African Union will then lead a consolidation process aimed at submitting the action plan for endorsement at the next EU-Africa Summit foreseen for the end of 2009.

“Africa is relevant for Europe, and space is relevant for Africa.”

GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) is a European Union-led initiative in partnership with ESA to combine ground- and space-based observations to develop an integrated environmental monitoring capability. ESA’s role within GMES is to implement the dedicated GMES space component, which involves developing the five Sentinel satellites, and to coordinate contributions from Member States, EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) and other mission operators.

Opening the 7 December ceremony, ‘Space for Development: the case for GMES and Africa,’ Dr Volker Liebig, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programme, said: “Africa is relevant for Europe, and space is relevant for Africa.”

“Sustainable development is top on the agenda of the international community, and it is impossible to address this challenge without space assets. The ESA strategy for Africa is therefore the result of a natural evolution of cooperation in the context of the global concerns we face today.”

Cooperation between Africa and Europe is not a novelty for ESA. “What topic is better suited to reflect the challenges of Africa and the world in the coming century than the blue gold: water,” Liebig said. “Water scarcity is the root for harsh living conditions for millions of individuals as it is the root for political conflicts. ESA is answering the challenge of water management in Africa with the TIGER initiative.”

ESA launched the TIGER Initiative in 2002 following the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The initiative’s primary objective is to help African countries overcome problems faced in the collection, analysis and dissemination of water-related geo-information by exploiting EO technology. Since then, TIGER has involved more than 150 African organisations investigating the various stages of the water cycle in some 15 projects across the African continent.

In his address, Liebig stressed the experience gained through past cooperation with TIGER, highlighted some major environmental problems facing Africa, such as water scarcity, desertification, loss of biodiversity and food security, and underscored the importance of African participation in order to make the initiative a success.

“Africa will need to focus their user requirements,” Liebig said. “The central sentence of the ‘Maputo Declaration’, which calls for the EU to plan an extension of its GMES European initiative to Africa, refers to two actors: the EU to make data and tools available, and the African countries to implement policies for sustainable development in an operational way.”

The meeting was preceded by a technical workshop held on 6 December by the EC, ESA and EUMETSAT. The aim of the workshop was to bring African, European and international users and organisations together in order to prepare the technical groundwork for today’s meeting.

GMES is being developed in steps through the introduction of pilot phase services, starting with three fast track services (land, marine, emergency) by the end of 2008. Eleven initial services, which could be successively deployed to support a wide range of needs, have already been identified.

“The very reason for developing a GMES capability in Europe lies in the political recognition of the usefulness of space for improving life on Earth,” Liebig concluded. “This political recognition of space makes today’s meeting here in Lisbon possible – and proves to be the best ground for achieving a positive, lasting result for the benefit of Africa and Europe.”

Source ESA