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The European Commission
has launched the Europe 2020 Strategy to deal with the current
crisis and prepare the EU economy for the next decade.
The Commission identifies
three key drivers for growth, to be implemented through concrete
actions at EU and national levels -
- Smart growth - (fostering knowledge, innovation,
education and digital society)
- Sustainable growth - (making our production more
resource efficient while boosting our competitiveness) -
and
- Inclusive growth - (raising participation in the
labour market, the acquisition of skills and the fight against
poverty).
This battle for growth and jobs requires ownership at top
political level and mobilisation from all actors across Europe.
Five targets are set which define where the EU should be by
2020 and against which progress can be tracked.
President Barroso said - "Europe
2020 is about what we need to do today and tomorrow to get
the EU economy back on track. The crisis has exposed fundamental
issues and unsustainable trends that we can not ignore any
longer.
"Europe has a growth deficit
which is putting our future at risk. We must decisively tackle
our weaknesses and exploit our many strengths. We need to
build a new economic model based on knowledge, low-carbon
economy and high employment levels. This battle requires mobilisation
of all actors across Europe.
"Firstly, Europe must learn
the lessons from the global economic and financial crisis.
Our economies are intrinsically linked. No Member State can
address global challenges effectively by acting in isolation.
We are stronger when we work together and a successful exit,
therefore, depends on close economic policy coordination.
Failure to do so could result in a 'lost decade' of
relative decline, permanently damaged growth and structurally
high levels of unemployment."
The Europe 2020 Strategy, therefore,
sets out a vision for Europe's social market economy over
the next decade and rests on the three interlocking and mutually
reinforcing priority areas - Smart growth, Sustainable growth
and Inclusive growth.
Progress towards these objectives
will be measured against five representative headline EU-level
targets, which Member States will be asked to translate into
national targets reflecting starting points -
-
75% of the population aged 20-64
should be employed.
-
3% of the EU's GDP should be
invested in R&D.
-
The
'20/20/20' climate/energy targets should be met.
-
The share of early school leavers
should be under 10% and, at least 40% of the younger generation
should have a degree or diploma.
-
20 million less people should
be at risk of poverty.
In order to meet the targets, the
Commission proposes a Europe 2020 agenda consisting of a series
of flagship initiatives. Implementing these initiatives is
a shared priority and action will be required at all levels
- EU-level organisations, Member States, local and regional
authorities.
-
Innovation union -
refocusing R&D and innovation policy on major challenges,
while closing the gap between science and the marketplace
to turn inventions into products. As an example, the Community
Patent could save companies €289 million each year.
-
Youth
on the move - enhancing
the quality and international attractiveness of Europe's
higher education system by promoting student and
young professional mobility. As a concrete action, vacancies
in all Member States should be more accessible throughout
Europe and professional qualifications and experience
properly recognised.
-
A
digital agenda for Europe
- delivering sustainable economic and social benefits
from a Digital Single Market based on ultra-fast internet.
All Europeans should have access to high speed internet
by 2013.
-
Resource-efficient
Europe - supporting the
shift towards a resource efficient and low-carbon
economy. Europe should stick to its 2020 targets in terms
of energy production, efficiency and consumption. This
would result in €60 billion less in oil and gas imports
by 2020.
-
An
industrial policy for green growth
- helping the EU's industrial base to be competitive in
the post-crisis world, promoting entrepreneurship and
developing new skills. This would create millions of new
jobs.
-
An
agenda for new skills and jobs
- creating the conditions for modernising labour
markets with a view to raising employment levels and ensuring
the sustainability of our social models, while baby-boomers
retire - and
-
European
platform against poverty
- ensuring economic, social and territorial cohesion by
helping the poor and socially excluded and enabling
them to play an active part in society.
The ambition of Europe 2020 means
that leadership and accountability must be taken to a new
level. The Commission invites Heads of State and Government
to take ownership for this new Strategy and endorse it at
the Spring European Council. The role of the European Parliament
will also be enhanced.
The governance methods will be
reinforced to ensure that commitments are translated into
effective action on the ground. The Commission will monitor
progress. Reporting and evaluation under both Europe 2020
and the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) will be carried out
simultaneously (while remaining distinct instruments) to improve
coherence. This will allow both strategies to pursue similar
reform objectives while remaining as separate instruments.
For
further information -
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