Det Udenrigspolitiske Nævn 2012-13
UPN Alm.del Bilag 261
Offentligt
EUROPEAN COUNCILTHE PRESIDENT
Brussels, 25 June 2013
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&form of address
It is my pleasure to invite you to the meeting of the European Council on 27 and 28 June 2013 inBrussels.
Over those two days, our aim should be above all to agree on tangible measures to bring down thehigh unemployment levels that our countries are facing, especially for young people. I have alreadylaid out to you in my letter of 24 May some avenues that could generate immediate impact: as amatter of priority we should speed up the Youth Employment Initiative, set up Youth Guaranteeschemes, mobilise all available resources in support of youth employment, and increase youthmobility, all of this with the full involvement of social partners.
Rue de la Loi 175 - 1048 Bruxelles - BELGIQUETél.: +32 (0)2 281 97 33 - Fax: +32 (0)2 281 67 37[email protected]
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Furthermore, considering the urgent need to restore credit flows in the economy, we should launcha new "Investment action plan", with measures to support SMEs and boost the financing of theeconomy, as stated in the Compact for Growth and Jobs which we adopted last year. Thebackground against which we shall take these decisions is one of improved financial stability, butwhere restoring sound public finances, improving our competitiveness and pursuing structuralreforms remains a high priority. With this in mind, we will conclude our yearly cycle of economicpolicy coordination, the 2013 European semester, during this European Council.
We will begin our meeting at 16.30 with an exchange of views with the European social partners.After the traditional exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament and thefamily photo we will begin our first working session at 18.15, to discuss the two main issues on ouragenda - youth employment and financing of the economy. The President of the EuropeanInvestment Bank and the President of the Commission will present their joint report on thefinancing of the economy. The President of the European Central Bank will also join us for thispoint.
After this, at around 20.30, we will begin our working dinner, which will be devoted to theEuropean semester and the country-specific recommendations, also in the presence of the Presidentof the ECB.
The conclusions relating to these issues discussed on Thursday will be adopted over dinner.
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We will resume on Friday morning at 10.00. I will give a state of play of our work on the deepeningof the Economic and Monetary Union, after which we will adopt the remainder of our conclusions,including on enlargement. To conclude our June meeting, I would briefly like to share some viewson relations with our global strategic partners.
We meet at a moment when the stakes are high and decisive action is needed, not only on issueswhich are on our June agenda: this week, important decisions should also be taken on the nextMulti-annual Financial Framework. I would like to use this opportunity to call on all involved totake their responsibility and successfully conclude the negotiations. Indeed, our seven year budgetis indispensable to fulfil our shared objective: to foster growth and much-needed jobs acrossEurope.
&salutations
H. VAN ROMPUY
