Results of the 22-23 March Spring Summit

Date: 24/03/05

• EU LEADERS approved a deal to relax the rules underpinning the single currency, the Stability and Growth Pact. They rubber-stamped a deal struck by finance ministers on Sunday to revise the pact, allowing countries to be exempt from disciplinary action for violating the rules in a large number of "relevant" circumstances, including costs related to Germany's reunification in 1990.
• THE 25 agreed on a plan to relaunch the EU's economic reform agenda. The revised Lisbon Strategy is based on a three-year cycle, which begins this year and will end in 2008. Member states will submit national reform programmes and appoint a Lisbon national co-ordinator. The strategy places strong emphasis on jobs and growth but also contains many references to the "European social model" and protection of the environment.
• LEADERS reached a common stance on the proposal to liberalise the services market, seeking to appease the critics of the directive, in particular France. The conclusions say that while the EU supports an opening of the market in services, the European social model has to be protected. Jean-Claude Juncker, current head of the European Council, said that the current draft does not meet those requirements. But he said that the directive would not be withdrawn, as this would give the impression that opening the services market had "dropped off the agenda".

Summary of the European Council at Brussels, 22-23 March 2005. Among the items discussed were the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, the relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy and amendments to the proposed Services Directive.

European Commission: Press Release: DOC/05/01, Presidency Conlusions, European Council, Brussels, 22-23 March 2005 http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=DOC/05/1&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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