Conference on European Social Model Opens in Ioannina
Date: 21-5-2003
A two-day conference in the context of the Greek European Union Presidency opened on Wednesday 21 May in the northern Greek town of Ioannina on "Modernization of the European Social Model, EU Policies and Tools".
The meeting, declared opened by Greece's Labour Minister Dimitris Reppas, looked into Europe's social model with the aim to conclude on an acceptable definition or an institutional consensus regarding the model's governing values and principles.
To that end, one of the conference's major targets was to analyze EU procedures in the area of social policy.
The three fields of discussion on how to modernize the EU social model, between approximately 240 participants from many EU member-states are: pensions, social inclusion and social legislation.
Opening the meeting, Mr. Reppas stressed that taking as a starting point a landmark decision taken during the Lisbon EU Council, the aim was to make it even more obvious that the Union was there and operated primarily for its citizens, meaning that social protection occupies a prominent place among the targets and choices jointly formulated.
"Our target is to inaugurate a fruitful dialogue to help us reach a political agreement, which would in turn lead to a successful adjustment of the welfare state to the new production model and to the challenges of our times, by utilizing in the best possible way the Union's convergence and cooperation capabilities," Mr. Reppas said.