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COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION		Brussels, 26 April 2006
	8674/06
	COMPET 90 ENV 247 IND 40 ECOFIN 130 DEVGEN 112 AGRI 145 ECO 71 ENER 137 MI 92 PECHE 118 RELEX 254 SAN 88 SOC 189 TRANS 96 RECH 97 POLGEN 48 EDUC 84

NOTE

from :	Presidency
to :	Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth
No. prev. doc.	6276/06 ENV 75 AGRI 34 ECO 15 ECOFIN 40 ENER 41 DEVGEN 32 MI 25 PECHE 33 RELEX 72 SAN 28 SOC 65 TRANS 36 RECH 16 POLGEN 8 EDUC 30
No. Cion doc.	15796/1/05 REV 1 ENV 601 AGRI 355 ECO 159 ECOFIN 412 ENER 203 DEVGEN 254 MI 143 PECHE 285 RELEX 766 SAN 217 SOC 516 TRANS 285 RECH 242 EDUC 196
Subject :	Preparation of the Competitiveness Council Meeting on 29 May 2006 Review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS) - – Call for written replies

1. – Delegations find below a background note and two annexes containing Presidency questions concerning the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS).

– This note will be presented to the Competitiveness and Growth Working Party on 27 April 2006 with a view to ascertaining delegations' positions which could subsequently be transmitted in written form.

2. – BACKGROUND

The European Council in Gothenburg adopted a strategy for sustainable development in 2001. During this summit, the Lisbon Strategy was given an additional dimension in the form of the environment. The Lisbon strategy also includes the EU’s long-term objectives for economic reform, employment and social cohesion. With its inclusion in these objectives, the environment will then receive the same amount of consideration as the social and economic dimensions in the evaluation and follow-up of the Lisbon objectives.

The European Council held a special meeting in Lisbon on 23–24 March 2000 to agree a new strategic goal for the Union for the next decade: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

3. – Reinforcing the link with the Lisbon Strategy

Article 2 of the European Treaty refers to promoting economic and social progress and a high level of employment and to achieving balanced and sustainable development, in particular through the creation of an area without internal frontiers, through the strengthening of economic and social cohesion and through the establishment of economic and monetary union, ultimately including a single currency in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty.

On 22-23 March 2005, the Spring European Council discussed the Commission's mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy for economic, social and environmental renewal. More focus on growth and employment, simplification of procedures and increased national ownership via national action plans are the key elements in the relaunch of the Lisbon reform agenda.

In June 2005, the European Council adopted a Declaration on Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development based on four key objectives:

Environmental protection;

Social equity and cohesion;

Economic prosperity; and,

Meeting international responsibilities.

In December 2005 the European Council noted the presentation of the Commission's communication on a renewed EU SDS for the next five years and looked forward to adopting in June 2006 an ambitious and comprehensive strategy, comprising targets, indicators and an effective monitoring procedure.

The Commission's "SDS Review Package", consists of:

the Communication itself, proposing six priority issues, the integration of the external dimension into internal policy-making, as well as an effective monitoring procedure and follow-up process;

Guiding Principles for SD adopted in June 2005 by the European Council;

Objectives, Targets, Policies and Actions;

a Commission Communication adopted in February 2005, taking stock of the progress and proposing first orientations.

4. – HANDLING

On 3 and 17 February 2006, the Group of the Friends-of-the-Presidency on the Review of the EU SDS (FoP) held preliminary discussions and examined a first draft of Presidency questions to guide policy debates in the different Council formations directly concerned by the SDS review. These questions appear in annex I to this note:

Environment: 9 March 2006

TTE – Transport: 27 March 2006

GAERC – External Relations: 10 April 2006

Ag/Fish: 20 March 2006

ECOFIN: 5 May 2006

Competitiveness: 29/30 May 2006

EJC – Education: 18 May 2006

EPSCO/Employment and Social Affairs: 1 June 2006

EPSCO/Health and Consumer protection: 2 June 2006

TTE – Energy: 8/9 June 2006

From the point of view of competitiveness, additional questions have been drawn up which appear in Annex II.

Delegations should also take into account the excellent preparation document by the Economic Policy Committee (EPC) on the review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy which has already been distributed. It could enrich the discussion at the meeting of the Competitiveness Council.

Call for written replies

Delegations are invited to submit to the Council Secretariat (industry@consilium.europa.eu) their written replies to the three questions presented in Annex I and to the additional questions presented in Annex II, by Tuesday 9 May 2006 c.o.b. at the latest.

On the basis of the Commission's SDS Review Package, the responses by delegations and the debate at the Competitiveness Council, the Presidency will prepare a draft for a reviewed EU SDS to be adopted by the European Council at its June 2006 meeting.

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ANNEX I

Questions to all Council formations

Do you consider the objectives, targets, key actions and the implied mix of policy instruments proposed in the SDS Review package, in particular Annex 2, are appropriate and sufficient to meet the challenges of Sustainable Development and to efficiently address unsustainable trends in your policy area? Are greater prioritisation and/or stronger efforts necessary to achieve this?

How can your Council formation best contribute to deliver visible results and measurable progress in implementing the EU SDS? What should be done to enhance synergies and coherence across policies and processes, including the Lisbon agenda?

How can an ambitious EU SDS ensure coherence between EU internal policies and its international commitments and contribute to sustainable development at both EU and global level, in particular in your specific policy area?

ANNEX II

Additional questions

Have international competition and the risk of delocalisation faced by European industrial locations been sufficiently considered in the revision of the EU’s sustainability strategy?

Has it been ensured that ambitious sustainability and environmental standards will be discussed at a multilateral level and on a broad basis to provide for a level international playing field and to what extent is a coherent policy suited to answer to questions with regard to ecological efficiency?

How can it be ensured that climate protection and economic growth can be reconciled?

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