European Economic and Social Committee

With the economic numbers around Europe getting worse and voters choosing against austerity, it is clear that there is both a very good reason and a groundswell of public support for measures that promote growth.

Where is growth likely to come from?

We often hear that somewhere is "booming". Right now Australia is such a place, but we cannot all just move to Australia in the hope of some economic good times. There is, however, an area of the economy, common to all European countries, that is booming. The internet and the amazing opportunities it brings, is booming. There are new business models springing up from nowhere creating jobs, spending, growth and tax receipts at an astonishing rate..

The Durban-negotiations may end up with concrete measures to fight climate change, or maybe Roadmaps for individual countries, or with improvements of the Climate Fund - or with just diplomatic talk and no concrete results. The final results will only be known when we are on the plane, going back.

Since its creation, in 1992, the LIFE programme has been one of the EU's main sources in support of the climate and the environment. The European Commission has recently made a proposal to continue the programme for the period 2014-2020 and introduced some significant changes. We had a chat with Pedro Narro, member of the NAT section, who was the rapporteur for the recent opinion on the LIFE Programme.

The cooperation we have had in the EU is a success! You may think it is crazy and naïve to say so in times of crisis, turmoil, unemployment and insecurity across Europe. Still I want to say it today, on Europe Day, as we must dare to see things in perspective.