The European Commission has launched its Europe 2020 strategy, aimed at helping the EU out of the financial crisis and at preparing the economy for the developments of the next ten years. Brussels has identified three "growth engines" to be put in place through national- and European-level action, and has defined them as: intelligent growth, or the promotion of knowledge, innovation, training and the digital society; sustainable growth, creating an economy based on low carbon emissions and efficient resource usage, all the while promoting competitiveness; and inconclusive growth, focused on incentivising participation in the work market, skills acquisition and the fight against poverty.

The strategy also sets five targets to be met by 2020 and will use these as viewpoints from which to monitor progress. The five goals, which member states will be asked to translate into national targets defined in accordance with their respective starting points, are as follows:

1. 75% of people between the ages of 20 and 64 must be employed;
   
2. 3% of EU GDP must be invested in R&D;
   
3. The "20/20/20" objectives contained in the climate/energy package must be met;
   
4. The drop-out rate from the school system must be less than 10% and at least 40% of young people must hold a degree;
   
5. the number of people at risk of poverty must be reduced by 20 million.

"The ambitious nature of "Europe 2020" presupposes a greater level of leadership and responsibility", wrote the Commission in a statement, inviting governments and heads of member states to "take full ownership of this new strategy" and to ratify it at the European Council this spring.

The Commission went on to add that "governance methods will be stepped up until these commitments are translated into concrete actions on the ground. The commission will monitor progress".

This is an implicit reference to the failure of the Lisbon Strategy which, in 2000 set the EU-wide objective of creating the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world. However, member states did not fully carry out their tasks and the Commission was left with no instruments to make them comply.
Things haven't changed much today and the new 2020 strategy seems to have set off down the same road. The statement from the Commission concludes with this point: "the reports and assessments relating to the Europe 2020 strategy and those of the Stability and Growth Pact will be carried out simultaneously so as to ensure coherency. In this way, the two strategies can pursue similar objectives while remaining two distinct instruments".