Press Release: Sharing success for growth and jobs: national coordinators to meet in Lisbon on 6 October

European Commission President José-Manuel Barroso, Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates and Finnish Presidency Trade and Industry Minister Mauri Pekkarinen will lead in Lisbon on 6 October 2006 a one-day seminar of national coordinators responsible in Member States for implementing the EU's Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. Commission Vice-President Gunther Verheugen will also take part. The seminar will focus on practical ways to create the right policy environment for making Europe a world-class innovation performer, an objective at the heart of the renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. It will be a chance for Member States to learn from each other's successes and for policy makers to exchange views with business leaders and technological experts from the academic world. Entitled "Excellence and Partnerships for an Innovative Europe", the seminar is the first in a series on practical issues identified by EU leaders as priorities under the EU's ongoing drive for Growth and Jobs.