43. Maintains that further reforms of pension systems are necessary in order to keep them adequate, sustainable and secure, with special attention to reducing the gender pay gap in work and consequently in pensions, and that pension levels must also remain predictable for future generations; to this end, calls for more coherence to be established between the effective retirement age, the official retirement age and life expectancy; calls on those Member States which have raised the statutory retirement age, or will be doing so, to encourage the employment of older people, e.g. through tax and social security exemptions;

20. Maintains that further reforms of pension systems are necessary in order to keep them adequate, sustainable and secure, with special attention to reducing the gender pay gap in work and consequently in pensions, and that pension levels must also remain predictable for future generations; to this end, calls for more coherence to be established between the effective retirement age, the official retirement age and life expectancy; calls on those Member States which have raised the statutory retirement age, or will be doing so, to encourage the employment of older people, e.g. through tax and social security exemptions;

The correct tool is an ongoing, continuous process, such as a 50% hiring goal. Such a process would ensure that an equal number of men and women get to the starting gate.

A. whereas the goals of the Bologna Process – to enable compatible systems of higher education in Europe and to do away with the barriers which still prevent people from moving to another country in order to study or work and make higher education in Europe attractive to as many people as possible, including young people from third countries – are still valid and the continuation of the process, through a dialogue between the different levels of the educational system in order to develop curricula to be built on each preliminary level, is serving the goals of growth based on knowledge and innovation within the Europe 2020 strategy, part ...[+++]icularly in the current economic crisis; whereas an assessment is needed in order to establish the evolution of the Process and to take account of the success stories, problems, lack of understanding and opposition encountered;

A. whereas the goals of the Bologna Process – to enable compatible systems of higher education in Europe and to do away with the barriers which still prevent people from moving to another country in order to study or work and make higher education in Europe attractive to as many people as possible, including young people from third countries – are still valid and the continuation of the process, through a dialogue between the different levels of the educational system in order to develop curricula to be built on each preliminary level, is serving the goals of growth based on knowledge and innovation within the Europe 2020 strategy, parti ...[+++]cularly in the current economic crisis; whereas an assessment is needed in order to establish the evolution of the Process and to take account of the success stories, problems, lack of understanding and opposition encountered;

Finally, I would ask you to promote simplification of the commercial defence mechanisms in order to make them quicker and more effective, because the persistence of tariff barriers, tariff peaks and non-tariff barriers is incompatible with the process of liberalising the markets.