Issues 2000: Facing The Future: 'Readiness For The Future' Project: Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden Best Prepared Wicker-Miurin On Europe's Preparedness: 'Progress Has Not Been Sufficient To Ensure Continued Prosperity For The Next Generation Of Europeans' NEW YORK, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- How prepared is Europe for the 21st century? According to a "Readiness for the Future" index, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden are the best prepared. Greece and Portugal don't fare as well. These are some of the findings from the report prepared by the Global Leaders for Tomorrow (GLT) that appear in the Newsweek special issue "ISSUES 2000: Facing the Future," which is on newsstands worldwide through February. Other findings show Luxembourg, Ireland and Austria are tops for maintaining economic growth, environmental protection and low health care costs. Sweden and Portugal need some improvement in those areas. The "Readiness for the Future" project's goal was to measure how well-prepared Europe is for the next century and identify those areas which need attention. It was first presented by the GLTs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last January. The GLTs are a group of the world's 100 best and brightest leaders who have proven a commitment to social responsibility. GLT member Fields Wicker-Miurin writes about the project and the findings in the Newsweek special issue. She explains that its purpose was to recognize what needs to be done to prepare Europe for the future. "Despite the achievements of the postwar years, progress has not been sufficient to ensure continued prosperity for the next generation of Europeans," she writes. "We are troubled by many aspects of modern European society; there is much that needs to be fixed." There are four categories of success on which the GLTs rated European countries: Sustainability, Fairness and Individual Freedom, Harmony and Readiness for the Future. Then they applied the same measures to the U.S., Japan and Canada. SOURCE Newsweek CONTACT: Jan Angilella of Newsweek, 212-445-5638 Web site: http://www.newsweek.com