Speaking during an informal meeting with the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD), Minister Galea said that for any strategy to succeed, it was important that there was a strong awareness of its vision, priorities and the goals being pursued among not only those implementing the strategy but also within the wider community of stakeholders who will be affected.

He said that last year the government had several discussions on the Lisbon Strategy with the MCESD. The process would continue this year.

“True and thorough consultation is at the heart of the government’s agenda. This is evidenced by initiatives such as the Pre-Budget Document ‘A better quality of life 2006-2010’, the pensions reform proposals, the National Strategic Reference Framework and recently, the Operational Programmes under Cohesion Policy 2007-2013.”

Minister Galea said that now that the implementation phase was well under way, “we need to communicate the achievements being made as a result of the Lisbon Strategy,” he said.

The minister said that one of the priorities should be the enhancing of the level of public interest by effectively communicating the positive message of growth and jobs through economic reforms pursued by national governments in line with the Lisbon Agenda.

He said that what may be beneficial to one EU member state may not be beneficial to another and a ‘one-size fits all’ approach should not be adopted when trying to implement the said strategy.

Minister Galea said that one must effectively analyse how the media can be engaged more effectively, by segmenting, targeting audiences and adapting messages and content to meet their particular needs. He said that the audiovisual media must also be better exploited together, making the best use of available resources.

The minister said that the country is continuously being faced with new socio-economic developments, mostly resulting from the effects of globalisation. He said that from a knowledge economy perspective, “we must take a new look at research and development while also changing our business perspective”.

Minister Galea said that employment, education, environment and a healthy economy were other important factors. He said the Lisbon Agenda is only achievable with the participation of all stakeholders and communication is a pre-condition to the building of trust. He also thanked the MCESD for its important contribution in this sector.

The meeting continued behind closed doors.