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Mid-term Programme 2006-2007 for Cooperation between the Directors General Responsible for Public Administration in the EU Member States - 9 MAY 2005
After the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy at the European Council in March 2005, it is more important than ever for cooperation between Directors General, called the European Public Administration Network (EPAN), to strive towards innovative, competitive and performance-oriented public administrations, which can substantially contribute towards fostering economic growth, job creation and social cohesion. This objective should guide all the activities within the informal cooperation framework of the Directors General.
Since the adoption of the last Mid-Term Programme in Rome in December 2003, the following important initiatives have been adopted by the Directors General:
Under the Irish Presidency, the Framework for Implementing the EPAN Evaluation and the Report of the Task Force on Enlargement has been adopted. This document puts forward valuable suggestions for improving the functioning and operation of EPAN at network level. These suggestions are being implemented under the Irish, Dutch, Luxembourg and UK Presidencies. Furthermore, this Presidency took important steps towards obtaining the views of the different working groups on their work programme and taking their specific issues into account.
The most historic event during this first half of 2004 was the participation of the 10 new Member States as full members in the EPAN Network
Then, under the following Dutch Presidency and within the context of the Lisbon Strategy, the important role of public administrations was further enhanced. In their memorandum of understanding of 4 November, the ministers responsible for public administration and e-Government from Ireland, Luxembourg, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Personnel and Administration stressed that more attention and effort was necessary from the Member States and European institutions in order to improve public administration, so that it becomes a key factor in achieving the Lisbon targets
Furthermore, it was laid down in the Maastricht resolutions of 22 and 23 November 2004 that an ad-hoc Lisbon group should be set up with the aim of preparing an integrated plan of activities to be carried out by EPAN's working groups and to be integrated into the Mid-Term Programme.
As set out in the resolutions adopted under the Irish Presidency, the preparation of the Mid-Term Programme 2006-2007 has been delegated to the Luxembourg Presidency, which, in close cooperation with the Troika, has elaborated the activities and priorities of this programme on the basis of broad consultation with the EU Member States. In this respect, the Luxembourg Minister responsible for Public Administration has addressed a letter to his counterparts in the EU Member States asking them to inform him about their priorities with regard to the next Mid-Term Programme. Their answers are taken into account in the following document.
The meeting of Ministers responsible for Public Administration in Luxembourg on 8 June 2005 will provide an opportunity to renew the political backing of informal cooperation in public administration and to set a new Mid-Term Programme, taking into consideration the challenges of the Lisbon Strategy and the enlargement.
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