Conclusions of the Berlin Summit june 3 2000 between European leaders with German Chansellor G. Schröder Presiding and the American President Bill Clinton.

We have come together in Berlin in order to exchange views and learn from each other about how to tackle the new challenges and opportunities that emerge in the 21st century. In November 1999 six of us met in Florence. We promised there to expand our discussions. Today, 14 Heads of State and Government have found common ground that we believe defines a progressive political project fit for the new century.

We are bound together first and foremost by our values. We are committed to solidarity and social fairness. We believe in the equal worth of all and in mutual responsibility. These values assume new relevance in a world that is changing at rapid speed. We are liberated from old emnities; but we are humbled by the responsibility to make up for lost years. The only way to do this is to forge a new progressive path.

We are leaders who are aware of the opportunities of globalisation, without denying the dangers. We fully recognize globalisation as an economic, social, and cultural reality, but it should not just be allowed to happen: it is a reality which we can collectively control; the key task of progressive governance in the new century is to help people make the most of change, by providing the tools for them to fulfill their talents in the new world that is being created.

We believe market economies must be combined with social responsibility in order to create longterm growth, stability and full employment, promote social justice, and protect the environment. We believe sound macroeconomic and fiscal policies that encourage strong and steady expansion can help spur full employment policies where continued growth encourages employers to recruit and train those previously denied good job opportunities. But the digital revolution, the growing integration of the global economy, as well as demographic and social changes mean that we can only fulfill our values if we work in new ways. We know that the benefits of globalisation are not being realised for all our people, especially in the developing world, where income distribution has become more unequal. Globalization must lead to higher living standards for all and not a destructive race to the bottom at the expense of environmental and worker protections.

All these challenges require progressive action. We commit ourselves to the core values of opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and community of all. We practice new methods of progressive governance. In this, we can only be helped by wider dialogue, and invite other leaders to join us in a commitment to meet the challenges and opportunities we describe below.

People want to live in a community, not merely work in a market; therefore they expect their governments to effectively fight unemployment - in cooperation with management and labour unions; they want education and lifelong learning, because they know that this is the key to more efficiency and more social cohesion at the same time; they want government to promote opportunity and security; they want to protect the environment and improve local quality of life; they seek co-operation across national borders in order to recognise the links of the international community in pursuit of these goals.

We are determined to take our countries forward and to establish safe and sound conditions that help to promote civil rights, employment and prosperity, equal opportunity for women and men. Our goal is to liberate the talent of all our people, but to do that we must share responsibility between public authorities and private individuals, between governments and international organisations, between non-govern­mental organisations and the public sector. This question is at the heart of progressive governance in the 21st century.

Our discussion at the Berlin-Conference has focussed in three areas. First, we have discussed the role of politics and government at national level in the context of global economic competition, global markets and global financial flows. For us, there are five key responsibilities for national government in advancing prosperity: