Following the introduction under Article 136 and 137, TEC (new Articles III-103 to 104), of the fight against social exclusion among the social policy provisions, the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 recognized that the extent of poverty and social exclusion was unacceptable. Building a more inclusive European Union (EU) was thus considered as an essential element in achieving the EU's ten-year strategic goal of sustained economic growth, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The Lisbon Council agreed to adopt an Open Method of Coordination in order to make a decisive impact on the eradication of poverty and social exclusion by 2010. The key elements in the Open Method of Coordination are: (1) a Social Protection Committee, established in 2000 to serve as a vehicle for cooperation exchange between the Commission and the EU Member States on modernizing and improving social protection systems; (2) common objectives on poverty and social exclusion that were agreed at the Nice Summit in December 2000 and revised at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council in December 2002; (3) National Action Plans against poverty and social exclusion by all EU Member States (the ten new members have presented their plans for 2004-06); (4) joint reports on social inclusion and regular monitoring, evaluation and peer review; (5) common indicators to provide a means of monitoring progress and comparing best practice; (6) a Community Action Programme to encourage cooperation between Member States to combat social exclusion. See: Poverty