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page 177 chapter VI
ity – including at the international level. During its EU
Presidency, Luxembourg actively contributed to the
European Council meeting in June 2005 adopting a
declaration containing guidelines for the sustainable
development of all Member States. Incidentally, this
principle is also embedded in the current EU treaty.
Sustainable policy means recognising that growth is
not an end in itself, but a prerequisite for safeguarding
and increasing prosperity in Europe, and thus for
preserving and improving our social model. That is
what counts, and that should be the goal of politics.
And a more efficient social model must also be developed
within the framework of the European Union.
The Member States are so closely interwoven that they
would be incapable of guaranteeing the optimum social
well-being of their people on their own. Only together
can we advance a society geared to solidarity
and social justice, in order to focus politics on improving
the quality of people‘s lives.
The Treaty of Lisbon provides for the European Social
Charter to at last be accorded the same legal status
as the remainder of the treaties. Moreover, the horizontal
social clause newly embedded in the Lisbon
Treaty states: “In defining and implementing its policies
and activities, the Union shall take into account
requirements linked to the promotion of a high level
of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection,
the fight against social exclusion, and a high
level of education, training and protection of human
health.”