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Ajouter un commentaireThe Lisbon Strategy has been labelled as the EU’s best kept secret because the term “Lisbon Strategy” is seldom used, but since the re-launch of the strategy in 2005, not least because of adjustments made to the strategy, Member States have gradually implemented reforms that meet the standards agreed upon on the EU level. Despite the fact that the international economic environment is showing signs of uncertainty and many believe is facing a recession, there is a strong belief in the future of the EU. First and foremost, the EU has experienced unprecedented economic growth in the past few years and the unemployment rate is down to a mere 7%. Therefore, today’s EU leaders firmly believe that the Union is better equipped to handle the consequences of a potential global economic crisis.
Not there yet
Despite all these plusses, Europe still falls way behind the USA and Asia in its quest to become the world’s most competitive and knowledge based economy. The targets set in the original Lisbon Strategy will not be reached by 2010 and several experts have estimated that the European economy is at least 20 years behind the American economy. Even though improvements have been made over the last few years, they have not been on a large enough scale to change that picture. So, how will the EU address these problems in the future ? That was discussed at the annual Spring Summit held on the 13th and 14th of March 2008.
- When the European leaders met on 13-14 March this year they negotiated a renewed Lisbon Strategy.
As expected, the second three year cycle of the renewed Lisbon Strategy (2008-2010) was launched at the Summit and according to the Summit conclusions the focus of the Strategy has shifted from its strong emphasis on growth and jobs to putting the environment and citizens more in the foreground. Of the Summit’s 18 pages of conclusions, nine of them are devoted to the objectives of the Strategy. In a statement the Slovenian EU presidency emphasized the new goals : “…in essence, heightened concern for citizens and social issues, the response to climate change, and a more modern view of innovation and creativity”.
The Council called for the adoption of a new social agenda which addresses social challenges, demographic changes, and the situation of young people, the importance of education, migration and intercultural dialogue. In this context combating poverty and social exclusion, promoting active inclusion and increasing employment opportunities for those furthest from the labour market are all of major importance. In view of increasing skills shortages in a number of sectors, the Council invited the Commission to present a comprehensive assessment of the future skills requirements in Europe up to 2020, taking account of the impacts of technological change and ageing populations and to propose steps to anticipate future needs. Also, there will be special emphasis on the 3% of the EU GDP Research and Development (R&D) investment target.
The Summit also stressed that, “given the increasing uncertainty about the international economic environment, we need to proceed resolutely with reforms”. These include the pursuit of innovation and research objectives, with the removal of barriers to the free movement of knowledge by creating a “fifth freedom” i.e. the free flow of knowledge boosted by the enhancement and facilitation of the cross-border mobility of researchers and optimal use of intellectual property, implementation of education reforms and promotion of the mutual recognition of qualifications.
New targets – same tools
The success rate of the new look Strategy, however, will still rely on the same premises as before, namely the Member States’ willingness to implement the necessary reforms. The Lisbon Strategy will still rely on the Commission making recommendations to the different countries, best practice, soft law and the Open Method of Coordination. The future will show if this will be enough to make a breakthrough. As pointed out by the European Policy Centre in their post Summit analysis normally, those governments which are already convinced of the merits of reform and modernisation and have a constituency they can rely on will achieve this act accordingly, while the others do not – regardless of the content of the Lisbon Strategy.
- The Portuguese capital that the Strategy is named after.
Peer review and best practice - the so-called “open method of coordination” that underpins the Strategy - often succumb to more pressing domestic priorities, and the lack of adequate enforcement mechanisms risks rendering its numerous recommendations a dead letter. There are signs that an open method of coordination can deliver results. Among the Member States there is a prevailing openness towards mutual understanding and a critical exchange of views about necessary adjustments. As a result of the method, there are more and more Member States which look outside their own borders and mimic best practises.
However, there is a gap between rhetoric and reality. The real problem is, according to the European Economic and Social Comittee, that the implementation phase is often incomplete or unfulfilled. In those cases there is an apparent lack of concrete, measurable goals and time schedules. Furthermore, the various Member States are by no means identical, so a practise that works well in one country will not necessarily work as well in another.
A strong belief in the Lisbon Strategy
Both among scholars and officials there is a belief in the importance of the Strategy because in a multi-level and multi-policy arena, such as Europe, with common problems across borders, there is a need for collective action to provide a common level of welfare. Since there is not one participant who possesses the knowledge and power to solve the interconnected problems, participants need to work together in order to solve the problems Europe is facing and will face in the future.
The lesson we learned from the rejection of the EU constitutional treaty in the Dutch and French referenda is that the citizens of Europe will hold the Union accountable if it cannot provide growth and jobs, which makes working towards the targets defined in the Lisbon Strategy even more important. Grand ambitions can be a good thing but when EU leaders openly state ambitions about growth and jobs they at the same time make the EU responsible for a successful delivery and in the wake of ambitions come expectations among the citizens of Europe.
- EU member state leaders
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Member States need to take ownership of the targets set in the Strategy and show a willingness to work towards them.
It is equally important that Member States take ownership of the targets set in the Strategy and show a willingness to work towards them. For some countries there is still a long way to go not least in the area of research. For example the target of investing 3% of the EU GDP in research before 2010 seems very far away when you take into consideration that the Member States in average only invested 1,84% in 2006, the same level as in 2004 and 2005. At least for the next three years the implementation of the Strategy will rely solely on soft law and best practice. The future will tell whether or not this will be enough to accomplish the ambitious targets set out.
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La Strategia di Lisbona – verso il 2010
Die Strategie von Lissabon - auf dem Weg ins Jahr 2010
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