What is the
If the EU makes the right economic reforms now, it can secure a prosperous, fair and environmentally sustainable future for
So when they met at the
The Strategy became known as the “Lisbon Strategy” and came to cover a very wide range of policies. The Strategy was relaunched in Spring 2005 after initially moderate results.
Why is the Strategy now more clearly focused on Growth and Jobs?
Growth is not an end in itself, but it is a prerequisite for being able to maintain and increase
Growth must be sustainable – while there is sometimes a short-term cost to protecting the environment, in the long term the costs of not tackling environmental issues such as climate change would be far greater.
We need more jobs for two reasons – first because far too many people’s lives are still blighted by unemployment and second because only by getting more people into work can we ensure that our societies cope with demographic change. Older populations mean higher pensions and health care costs and those need to be financed by the working population. Â
In a nutshell, what are the most important steps for achieving more jobs and growth in
There are many pieces in the jigsaw puzzle. It is the whole policy mix that counts. We need to make
That means budgetary sustainability, better regulation and the right tax and benefit systems. We need to improve education and training to allow more people to reach their full potential, for their own sake and that of society as a whole. We need to invest in research to maintain our comparative advantage relative to competing regions.
We need more competition to make sure that research feeds through into real innovation, as companies strive to stay ahead in highly competitive markets. We need to make our economy more adaptable to change and more resistant to external shocks. We need more people of all ages in employment to finance social spending as our population’s age. We need to use energy more efficiently and sustainably and to negotiate better with countries which supply us with energy. All of these things require European and national level reforms.
What are the main targets under the Growth and Jobs Strategy?
Before the 2005 relaunch, there were too many disparate targets. We now have a streamlined and simplified process with only two headline targets: investment of 3 % of Europe’s GDP in research and development by 2010 and an employment rate (the proportion of
Of course, these are not the only issues that matter – but achieving both is absolutely central to getting our economies into shape for globalisation. And there is progress towards both of them. At the 2006 Spring European Council, all Member States agreed to set ambitious R&D targets and most have undertaken important reforms to help them get there. Employment accelerated at an annual pace of 1.4% in 2006, the strongest pace since summer 2001, and the unemployment rate declined to 8.0%.
How is the implementation of the
There is a close partnership between the Commission and
In conjunction with this, a programme for European level reform – the Community Lisbon Programme (see IP/06/1470 and MEMO/06/399) – is implemented.
Why do we need a European strategy when many of the necessary measures have to be taken at national level?
Our economies are interdependent. Prosperity in one
In addition, national policies alone are not enough to allow the Growth and Jobs Strategy to succeed. European Union policies are also central to the Strategy. For example, an efficient internal market, the right policies on external trade, the updating and enforcement of EU competition law, well-targeted European research programmes, the effective use of EU Structural and Cohesion funding and the application of EU environmental policies are all crucial to delivering the prosperous and modern society which is the ultimate aim of the Lisbon Strategy.
What is the Commission’s role in the governance of the Strategy?
First, it proposes the Integrated Guidelines for reform, which are then approved by the Council and form the broad basis for Member States’ National Reform programmes.
Second, in its Annual Progress Report the Commission assesses the content and implementation so far of National Reform Programmes, allowing stakeholders and citizens to see how far each
Third, it works continuously with Member States to help them exchange experience, learn from each other and implement, update, and improve their National Reform Programmes, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses identified in the Annual Progress Report. This role as a catalyst for mutual learning, building consensus that feeds into national as well as European policies is sometimes low profile, but has been central to the Commission’s work since the European Community began.
Last but not least, the Commission ensures through its role in driving forward the Community Lisbon Programme that policy making and funding activities at European level best serve the goals of growth and jobs.
What does the Annual Progress Report cover? What is different from last year?
Last year, the Commission’s Annual Progress Report assessed the 25 National Reform Programmes, identified strengths and weaknesses and proposed to the Spring European Council that EU leaders should make a common commitment to reinforcing the overall reform agenda in four priority action areas: knowledge (education, research and innovation); unlocking business potential; getting more people into work; and energy. The European Council accepted this proposal.
This year, the “country chapters” in the Commission’s Report will seek to answer two basic questions: how much have Member States done to implement the commitments they made in their National Reform Programmes? And what have they done to reinforce their programmes in the light of the weaknesses identified by the Commission last year and of the commitments made by the European Council?
The general part of the report will draw conclusions on overall progress in the main reform areas and propose updates to the commitments made by the European Council, for example to ensure that businesses can be set up in seven days via a one-stop shop and that unemployed young people get the offer of a job or further training within six months.
How was this year’s report drawn up?
Primarily on the basis of Implementation Reports setting out progress at national level, presented to the Commission in October 2006. As last year, the Commission helped Member States to prepare their reports, in particular through visits to national capitals in the summer by multi-disciplinary teams of officials led by Commissioners or senior officials.
Are there early indications of the level of overall progress?
Yes. President Barroso has already made clear publicly that the pace of progress has been stepped up and that results over the last year in terms of reforms implemented have improved significantly. However, while all have gone forward, there remain big differences between
President Barroso has also repeatedly emphasised the importance of taking advantage of the current economic upturn – reforms already undertaken have been a factor in the recovery, though not the only factor – to further pick up the pace, thus ensuring that the upturn is transformed into a lasting structural improvement in Europe’s competitiveness.
What happens after the Annual Progress Report?
As usual, the report will be submitted to EU leaders at the Spring European Council which will adopt conclusions on the way forward which respond to the proposals made by the Commission. The Council will also be asked to support the country specific recommendations, thus establishing that Member States have agreed on what they need to do to push reform forward over the next year or so. This will provide a stronger political basis for those reforms.
Further Implementation Reports will be prepared by Member States and analysed by the Commission in a new Annual Progress Report around the turn of next year.
The Integrated Guidelines on which the whole process is based will be reviewed and if necessary revised in 2008.
Meanwhile, the Commission will continue to reinforce its efforts to get the message across – directly or in cooperation with stakeholders – to a wide public that the growth and jobs strategy is a positive vision of wider opportunity, not a message of doom, gloom and austerity. It will encourage Member States to do the same and will lay a strong emphasis on ownership and communication in evaluating progress at national level.
What is the link between the Growth and Jobs Strategy and the Structural Funds?
It is a very close link. The Commission is committed to ensuring that structural and cohesion funding is used primarily to contribute to the Lisbon Growth and Jobs objectives. In a single market those funds will be spent on procuring works, goods and services from all over the EU. That will benefit all
The Commission has worked with Member States to ensure that their National Strategic Framework documents planning use of the funds for 2007-13 reflect the growth and jobs priorities. EU 15 Member States are committed to earmarking at least 60% of Structural Funds Investment for advancing the Growth and Jobs Agenda. Most of the Member States who joined the
Is the EU maintaining its target of becoming the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010?
The key aim is getting into a rhythm of high sustainable annual growth and low unemployment by 2010. If, for example, the
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