LISBON Strategy in HUNGARY

1
LISBON Strategy in HUNGARY

• presentation of
• János TÓTH
• co-president and acting secretary general
• of the
• Hungarian Economic and Social Council,
• member of the EESC
• / e-mail bfjipest_at_mail.datanet.hu /

2
1. How can Hungary contribute?

•  
• No way the criticism of the period 2000-2004. Not
  only because it would be in contrast with the
  required progressive character but we were not
  a member country that time.
• What does the Lisbon Strategy offer now for
  Europe? Above all a starting point for the
  voluntary, harmonised, solidary co-operation.
• Describing reasons for the lack of success until
  now, scientific literature and specialists
  unanimously point out that the objectives and
  means are not included in the competence of the
  Union. This is true, however, as opposed to
  several conclusions often published it can
  neither serve as an excuse of the Union nor as
  basis of eventual blaming of the member states.
• The member states and the Union should take
  corporate responsibility for accomplishment of
  the Lisbon Strategy. Corporate should be
  interpreted in sense of a legal term.
•  
•  

3
2. Definition of the European values is based on
revealing the meaning

•  
• First request is to know how, in what way people
  of Europe, the European citizens in many
  languages the européer wishes to be the most
  competitive, knowledge-based national of the
  world in sustainable circumstances. We should get
  to know, what it means by these concepts, and
  whether the public opinion or with other words
  common sense is equivalent with the content
  of expressions used by the institutions of the
  Union.
• This work is to be commenced in our country, as
  well. A real, comprehensive, deep interview-like
  survey being more profound than the
  question-and-answer method on the home page of
  the National Development Plan and the National
  Regional Development Plan may serve as basis
  for a high level evaluation of scholarly
  character also involving international
  specialists in the program.
• Such scientific labour, if every member state
  sets to it and mutually involves specialists of
  each other, may represent significant
  contribution to the directives of a
  knowledge-based society of the Lisbon Strategy as
  well as to improvement of the co-operation.

4
3. Solidarity for the purpose of success of the
Lisbon Strategy should be solidarity of the
European administrations

•  
• The Lisbon Strategy depends not only on the
  implementation of the member states. Institutions
  of the Union should see clearly the strategy is
  an initiative of the Union on full grounds,
  accomplishment and success concern the Union. It
  is a perfect possibility for the institutions of
  the Union and the administrative organisations of
  the member states to practise the network
  operation voluntarily, with initiative attitude,
  also considered by the reformed strategy as an
  accepted, important method.
• All members of the organised civil society in our
  country, but surely all over Europe, are zealous
  partners moving at the first call of their own
  administration and that of the Union in
  accomplishment of the improving intentions.
• Nowadays all well-informed citizens of Europe are
  more mature to unconditionally accept argument
  saying success is the outcome of my work,
  failure is the fault of the other party no
  matter it is said by the Union or the
  administration of the member state.
• If the Union and administrations of the member
  states co-operate appropriately for the purpose
  of realisation of the strategy, this will, for
  certain, be significant advance also towards
  better governing drawn up also as an objective
  of the Union.

5
4. Strategic and financial planning requires
harmony

• Why would it be necessary that the strategic
  planning period should deviate from that of the
  financial planning?
•  
• There is nothing to prevent that the original,
  closing year of 2010 of the Lisbon Strategy
  should be modified. Let it be the year of 2013.
•  
• This is in conformity with the expected closing
  year of the financial prospect now planned.
  Presumably it will result in lots of practical,
  reasonable facilities
•  
• The Lisbon Strategy has an influence on
  macroeconomic matters in triple coherence the
  economic integration, careful co-ordination of
  internal labour markets and pension reform and
  direction of the subsidies towards rd and
  education. These relations make harmonisation of
  the planning periods more necessary.

6
5. Safe state of European way of life should be
introduced into the concepts of priorities

•  
• Concerning failure of the Constitution agreement
  draft it often came up in the Union today we do
  not appreciate peace in our continent. Putting
  safe state of the European way of life into the
  centre represents its significance.
•  
• In Hungarian respect we can give utterance to the
  matter of the personal, family safety by means of
  the new wording. Compared to the present wording
  growth and jobs of the Union the expression
  safe state of European way of life seems to be
  more comprehensive, and, from the viewpoints of
  the jobs it is presumably more dynamic, too, than
  the present one. Workplace means engagement for
  the employee, while safe state of way of life, on
  the level of the person, refers to the fact that
  achieving a higher level of knowledge you can
  safely move to another place of work.
•  
• Making the idea of safe state of European way of
  life part of the strategy in our country also
  means that safety granted by abilities and
  knowledge of a given person, that can be
  mobilised easily, rise above safety of a given
  place (of living or work). This idea may help in
  increasing low social mobility in Hungary.

7
6. Innovation

•  
• It was definitely expressed within the Union
  participation of the private investments and the
  company sector in rd should be raised,
  professional knowledge should be improved.
  Innovation should be made appropriate subject,
  element of the financial system, innovation
  poles, service background should be strengthened.
  Structure, incubation and network operation are
  to be developed, as well.
•  
• Each and every element is justified also in our
  country. These are, however, projections of
  innovation being in direct relation, first of
  all, with competitiveness, growth of economy.
•  
• Besides above it is worth thinking over and
  elaborating the possibilities of innovation in
  the administration, jurisdiction, free access to
  the laws, legal provisions, as well as in forming
  the human and technical infrastructure required
  for effective operation of participative
  democracy.

8
7. Youth

•  
• Implementation of the original and reformed
  objectives of the Lisbon Strategy may exert
  obviously favourable influence on the European
  youth. Reading words related to the Strategy,
  however, the reform of the pension systems,
  importance of learning for life are emphasized
  with good reason in long, multiple compound
  sentences, stuffed with foreign expressions, or
  in lists ranging priorities and sub-priorities in
  directives and sub-directives. We may not be far
  from the mark supposing that the topics have a
  grip only on young people thinking perspectively.
  And texts, in such form, it is to be feared, will
  neither excite wide interest of even the students
  of universities, nor will encourage too many for
  self-motivated activity.
•  
• We should take care about wide communication of
  the Lisbon Strategy in Hungary.
•  

9
8. Hungarian approach to the "Growth and jobs"

•  
• "Knowledge and innovation motor of sustainable
  development" Still not enough government
  commitment taken for these can be observed in our
  country. Separated, clear directing points should
  be formed by improving the present structure.
•  "Lets make a Europe a better place of life and
  investments" and let all the settlements and
  regions of our country contribute to this
  project.
•  "More and better jobs" We should add in the
  company sector, social economy and maybe also
  provided by the other civil organisations, but
  surely less in the home budget sector. More than
  number of inhabitants of Hungary able to work and
  better than corresponding to their present skill
  and qualifications. For all this we should create
  an open, receptive atmosphere that affords
  chances to our compatriots for professional
  development and choice, and for our
  non-compatriots to find success in the Republic
  of Hungary, the member state of the European
  Union.

10
Stakeholders Initiative

• The Lisbon Strategy Hungarian platform /LSMP/
•  LSMP is a co-operation initiated by civil
  organisations widely open towards science,
  economy, government and society having in view
  the following targets
• to enhance support that can be granted by the
  co-operating organisations, institutions for
  translation of the EU Lisbon Strategy,
• to encourage active assistance of the
  participants in realisation of the strategy in
  Hungary,
• to generate projects,
• to promote implementation of projects,
• to co-operate in the Hungarian evaluation of
  accomplishment of the Lisbon Strategy,
• to improve the international relationships
  between the institutions and companies.
•  
• The platform is initiative and receptive towards
  the representatives of the government, economy,
  science and society.
• Platform operates focusing on the Lisbon Strategy
  and its implementation in Hungary. It approaches
  the economic and social subjects related to the
  strategy on a broad front.
•  

11
Lisbon Strategy Hungarian Platform /LSMP/

• Operation of the platform covers the following
  spheres
• organisation and promotion of partnerships,
• education, training,
• provision, development of services, marketing,
• participation in the social harmonisation
  processes
• encouragement of the EU integration, operation,
  improvement of institutional relationships.
•  
• The platform performs its activity on national
  (country-wide, regional and local) as well as
  international level.

12
Lisbon Strategy Hungarian Platform /LSMP/

• Initiators of the platform
•  
• Central Hungarian Innovation Centre (CHIC)
• Association of Industrial Parks (IPE)
• Innostart National Business and Innovation
  Centre
• Hungarian Innovation Association
•  Enterprises, scientific institutions, civil
  organisations may join the platform.
• The platform does not touch legal, economic
  independence of the participating organisations
  and institutions, it is based exclusively on
  voluntary co-operation of the parties.
•  
•   Steering Committee
•  
• Secreteriat Support Group
•  
• Working Group1 Working Group2
•  

13
Operative structure of LSMP

• - Steering committee strategic body comprising
  chiefs of the participants
• - Support group involvement of the operative
  management
• - Working groups permanent or ad hoc group of
  specialists
• - Secretariat performance of organisational
  activities and administrative tasks
•  The platform covers in- and outputs of the
  following phases
•   recommendations
•   evaluation
•  challenges projects, economic manifestation
• of the members co-operation
•  
• subjects subprograms, with specific influence
•  
• approaches major programs,
• with broad effects
•  

14
High level Conference in Budapest

• Background
•  
• The European Council of 22 and 23 March 2005
  invited the European Economic and Social
  Committee (EESC) to set up, with Member States'
  economic and social councils and other partner
  organisations, an interactive network of civil
  society organisations aimed at promoting the
  implementation of the Lisbon Strategy (Point 9 of
  the Presidency Conclusions). The EESC and the
  national economic and social councils will submit
  a joint report to the March 2006 European
  Council. Within the framework of an analysis by
  the EESC, this report will highlight the work
  carried out by each ESC on the implementation of
  the Lisbon Strategy at national level, and allow
  civil society representatives to express their
  opinion on the current status of the Strategy and
  on the degree of their involvement by the
  competent national authorities.

15
Conference of Partnership

• Concept of the high-level conference
•  
• The conference will enable policy makers across
  Europe to discuss with civil society
  representatives about the state of the
  implementation, identify future challenges and
  identify good practices stemming from different
  experiences in the Member States.

16
Think Global and

• Participation
•  
• The conference should bring together
  high-ranking civil society representatives with
  EU governments, the European Commission and the
  Austrian Presidency at highest possible level
•           Hungary high governmental and
  political level
•           EU-Commission
•           Austrian Presidency
•           Other representations of national
  governments
•           European Economic and Social Committee
•           Hungarian Economic and Social Council
•           Other EU Economic and Social
  Committees
•           Other civil society organisations,stake
  holders

17
...act Local!

• Organisation and Co-operation with Hungarian
  government
•  
• The European Economic and Social Committee and
  the Hungarian Economic and Social Council will
  jointly organise the Conference. A close
  cooperation with the Hungarian government will be
  a major factor for the success of the conference.
  

18
Spring of 2006 - BUDAPEST

• Timing and Dates
•  
• Subject to availabilities it could be
  considered to place the event on a
  Thursday/Friday or Monday/Tuesday at the
  beginning of March. This way, satellite events
  could take place at the weekend.
• Essential to leave enough time to
  present the results of the conference to the
  Spring Summit at the end of March.
•  

19
Outline of the sequence of events

•  
• One could consider a two-day event starting in
  the early afternoon of the first day with
  inauguration speeches by the organisers and VIP
  presentations followed by panels with civil
  society. In the evening a gala dinner could be
  considered with dinner speeches as appropriate.
  The next morning could again host VIP
  presentations, followed by further panel. After a
  buffet lunch, the programme could be concluded in
  the early afternoon.

20
Follow-up for the Spring Summit

•  
• The results of the conference should be
  submitted to the EU Spring Summit together with
  the report drafted jointly by the EESC and
  national Economic and Social Councils.