It should be dedicated as well to active help that promotes work and independence, and prevents problems, rather than simply providing a palliative to them.Second, we need to strengthen civil society. Civil society is a check against both overweening government and untrammelled market power. The underlying values should be clear - a society open and inclusive, but based on responsibilities as well as rights. There are those who will seek to exploit the population movements that are part of globalisation to stir up fear and hatred. We are determined to stand against anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia. We also recognise that one of the most corrosive influences on the health of a community is crime. That is why we are determined to use all the tools at our disposal, from effective community policing to the latest DNA technology, to tackle crime and its causes.Third, we are committed to a new international social compact.
We recognise that in an increasingly interdependent world, the aims of wider prosperity and a strengthening of civil society cannot be pursued within the nation state alone. It is not only that problems cross borders; it is that the pursuit of self-interest in one part of the world may be disastrous for another. The key for development is to establish a virtuous circle between laudable aims that too often are pursued in isolation - debt relief, conflict prevention, trade promotion, educational and health investment, and environmental enhancement.In relation to debt relief, rich countries have promises to fulfil, while developing countries must show that the poor will benefit. Similarly, we need to find a way through the legitimate debate to ensure that free trade supports development and employee rights; and in fields like the environment, we should be seeking to bind together the interests of developed and developing countries, using innovative new mechanisms such as emissions trading schemes to curb pollution.This is an ambitious agenda - and rightly so. It is based on clear values, and judging by the meeting in Berlin, it has increasing support This is significant. Ten years ago, at the end of the Cold War, people talked about the end of the Left, or even the end of politics. Ten years on, progressive politics has been liberated from old attitudes.
In our four countries, it is left-of-centre parties that have brought stability to public finances, tackled social exclusion, pioneered reform as well as investment in public services, and are now engaging with the construction of a reformed European social model. The results speak for themselves: falling unemployment, rising investment, improving standards in health and education services.We are proud of these achievements, but not satisfied There are big challenges ahead. The protection of our environment, incorporating all that scientific advance has to offer, looms as a massive responsibility for our generation. And as leaders of four EU member states, we recognise the need for the EU to reform and move forward. We are committed to help Europe become the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010, through reforms in capital, product and labour markets. European countries are collaborating more closely in fields like crime, asylum and defence.
