Europe 2020 aims to get the EU out of the crisis and prepare its economy for the next decade. The EC has identified key drivers for growth such as fostering knowledge, innovation, the digital society and making EU production more resource-efficient, while boosting competitiveness.
The European Commission today launched Europe 2020 Strategy to get Europe out of the crisis and prepare its economy for the next decade. The Commission has identified three key drivers for growth, to be implemented through concrete actions at EU and national level: 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). The battle for growth and jobs will require 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."
First of all, 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 three interlocking and mutually reinforcing priority areas: Smart growth, developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation; Sustainable growth, promoting a low-carbon, resource-efficient and competitive economy; and Inclusive growth, fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion.
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 per cent of the population aged 20-64 should be employed.
· 3 per cent 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 10per cent and at least 40 per cent of the younger generation should have a degree or diploma. .
· 20 million less people should be at risk of poverty.
© European Commission
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