Long-term budget, Schengen enlargement, Russia on June Strasbourg plenary

Gross domestic product has been used as a measure of macro-economic activity since the 1930s and is often used as an indicator for development in general, but for some GDP has clear limitations - for example, it doesn't measure the environmental and social aspects of progress. The "Beyond GDP initiative" aims to develop indicators that are as clear as GDP but include other measurements of progress. Danish Conservative Anna Rosbach has drafted a report on the initiative, which wasvoted in plenary Tuesday. She told us more.

GDP has been used as measure of macro-economic activity for 80 years. Why is it no longer enough?

It is not enough because, for example, there are some African countries that have a lot of raw materials like gold and diamonds, making the country very rich on paper, but when it comes to the individual citizens...people are extremely poor, they don't have electricity and water. Seen in GDP terms the country is wealthy, because the dictators are getting a lot of money, they have big pockets, but it never goes out to the citizens of the country. For me this is a misuse of GDP.

In your report you stress the need to develop additional indicators. What should they take account of?

I would like to see indicators covering things like what kind of education I receive and what kind of job I can get, what I can buy, how I am treated when I am ill, what my opportunities for a good quality of life are when I get older…

But this is just my opinion. These ideas are not in the report because at this stage we are trying to create a basic compromise document which, once adopted, will be sent to the Commission asking it to come up with concrete ideas that can be measured properly and that we can take on board. 

We need things which can be measured by Eurostat (the EU's statistics body), and followed up every year. So they can't be dream issues, wishing for a happy state and sunshine every day....

When do you think that these new indicators will become a reality?

I hope in the very short-term because they are much needed. Many big member states, like France and the UK, are already discussing this, as are some other countries outside the EU. The EU is coming to this a bit late and in my view we have to step up the pressure.