The Lisbon European Council of March 2000 asked Member States and the Commission to\ud
take steps to make a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty by 2010. It also agreed that\ud
Member States should co-ordinate their policies for combating poverty and social exclusion\ud
on the basis of an open method of co-ordination combining common objectives, national\ud
action plans, common indicators with the aim of promoting more ambitious and effective\ud
policy strategies for social inclusion. In this context Member States have prepared a second\ud
generation of National Action Plans against poverty and social exclusion (NAPs Inclusion).\ud
These constitute a strong political acknowledgement, three years after the Lisbon Summit, of\ud
the continuing challenge to ensure social inclusion across the European Union. They represent\ud
a renewed commitment to the Union's social goals and a reiteration by Member States that\ud
modernisation of the economy should go hand in hand with efforts to reduce poverty and fight\ud
against exclusion. They underline that this should be the case even at a time of economic\ud
constraints and difficulties.\ud
The NAPs inclusion are an important contribution to the modernisation of the European social\ud
model. In this approach, relatively high levels of investment in policies to promote social\ud
inclusion and social cohesion are recognised as also making an important contribution to\ud
achieving sustainable economic and employment growth. This view is reinforced by the fact\ud
that the most socially progressive countries within the Union are also among the most\ud
economically advanced. However, in pursuing economic growth, it is clear from the\ud
NAPs/inclusion that those countries starting from a lower level of development are also\ud
giving priority to social development and recognise this as an integral part of achieving\ud
economic as well as social progress. Thus it is clear that relatively high levels of social\ud
investment are making and will continue to make a significant contribution to the\ud
achievement of the Union's overall strategic goal of becoming, by 2010, "the most\ud
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable\ud
economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion". This emphasises the\ud
mutually reinforcing role of social, employment and economic policies, the importance of\ud
which is highlighted by the Lisbon Strategy