E. whereas the crisis and the increasing disparities in competitiveness since the introduction of the euro have highlighted the need for enhanced coordination of economic and employment policies and improved budgetary practices;

84. Calls on the Commission, in its upcoming Annual Growth Survey, to raise the issue of specific policy guidelines on reducing gender inequalities, including, in particular, guidelines on closing the gender pay gap – which often results in women finding themselves below the poverty line at a later stage of their lives – as well as the gender pension gap, on increasing the participation of women in the labour market and on combating gender segregation in the labour market, since the future prosperity of the EU depends crucially on its ability to fully utilise its labour resources;

8. Stresses that investing in a low-carbon economy and promoting energy efficiency and environment-friendly production must not result in greater development disparities between the Member States.

The procedures employed shall ensure that the AIFM has the appropriate knowledge and understanding of the liquidity of the assets in which the AIF has invested or intends to invest including, where applicable, the trading volume and sensitivity of prices and, as the case may be, or spreads of individual assets in normal and exceptional liquidity conditions.

9. Is concerned about persisting high unemployment rates, widening income disparities and high poverty rates in some of the candidate countries; calls for greater attention to be paid to the social dimension of enlargement, inter alia by strengthening pre-accession aid for measures in support of social cohesion;

A successful innovation policy could help to reduce the gap and contribute to increased national wealth.