madam president it is with heavy heart that i stand up to speak once again on lisbon
i do not normally speak here just for the sake of being negative
i believe that the european union talks the talk when it comes to the lisbon strategy
however today almost ten years since the summit it is a long way from walking the walk
we hear many warm words about the need for the skilled workforce that will be able to adapt to economic upheavals such as the one we face today
however across europe we still face a chronic skills crisis
in my region the west midlands the skilling of the workforce has had a particularly painful and protracted birth
regrettably we have the highest proportion of skill-shortage vacancies of any british region
i would therefore call on the commission not to lose sight of the structural reforms needed to reinvigorate the lisbon strategy during a period which is beset with economic disorder higher oil and commodity prices and ongoing turbulence on the financial markets
