Press Release: Modernising Europe to meet the challenges of globalisation and ageing

The European Commission on 20 October 2005 published a report, entitled ‘European Values in a Globalised World’, as its contribution to the Informal Summit of Heads of State and Government on 27 October in the UK. In the report the Commission warns that if Europea was not able to change, the forces of global competition, the impact of new technologies and our ageing population would call its economic success and the financial viability of its social systems – pensions, welfare, health –into question. The Commission therefore held that there was an urgent need to move ahead with economic reforms and the modernisation of social systems.

European Commission: Memo: MEMO/05/386, Five proposals to relaunch negotiations, 20.10.05 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/386&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

European Commission: Press Release: IP/05/1318, President Barroso presents five proposals to relaunch negotiations on EU Financial Perspectives for 2007-13, 20.10.05 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/1318&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

BBC News, 20.10.05: EU head calls for modernisation http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4359684.stm

European Commission: COM (2005)525 http://ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/pdf/COM2005_525_en.pdf

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