However, analysis of the progress made in the light of the 4 common objectives reveals that: (a) the measures concerned with promoting access to the labour market have, in tandem with the NAP/empl, achieved considerable success; (b) pursuit of the reform of the social protection system has not affected attainment of the goals inherent in the Minimum Guaranteed Income scheme (scheme combining financial benefits with a socio-occupational integration plan); (c) the aim of having all persons in a situation of exclusion sign a "social integration contract" within one year was too ambitious and was difficult both to implement and to evaluate, since it requires multisectoral involvement and since the universe of individuals to be covered remains undef ...[+++]ined (the same comment applies to the individualised follow-up of children and young persons within three months); (d) the setting up of a national social welfare helpline has made it easier for certain priority groups to obtain information and a rapid response to their problems; (e) the "Urban Social Development Contracts" and the "Rural Areas and Social Development" project, which were aimed at tackling the problems of the regional nature of exclusion, were abandoned for budgetary and policy reasons; (f) as regards mobilising stakeholders in the process, the Interministerial Monitoring Committee, set up expressly to monitor the NAPincl, operated only intermittently and its composition had to be altered following the change of government, hence its impact as an institutional co-ordination forum has been established only gradually; as regards civil society, the vague reference to the Co-operation and Social Solidarity Pact and the project for the creation of an NGOs Forum illustrates the low degree of involvement of these players.

The chairman, in his opening remarks, asked us to refrain from asking too many questions about security since these questions were best dealt with by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Too often the media and some of the stronger members insist that APEC's only agenda is trade liberalization but, as I have tried to point out, the agenda is broader than that, and our political leadership should not be intimidated in supporting the broader mandate.

The EESC would also point out that although the initiative is important, the proposal might be too complicated at a time when the EU is undergoing a crisis, with high unemployment and a rising number of bankruptcies.