The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and

development plan A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day dec ...

devised in 2000, for the

economy of the European Union The economy of the European Union is the joint economy of the member states of the European Union (EU). It is the third largest economy in the world in nominal terms, after the United States and China, and the third one in purchasing power p ...

between 2000 and 2010. A pivotal role in its formulation was played by the Portuguese economist

Maria João Rodrigues Maria João Rodrigues GOIH is a Portuguese academic and politician who served as Member of the European Parliament and Vice-President of the Group of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) from 2014 until 2019. Since 2017 she is also President of th ...

. Its aim was to make the EU "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion", by 2010. It was set out by the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000. By 2010, most of its goals were not achieved. It has been succeeded by the

Europe 2020 Europe 2020 is a 10-year strategy proposed by the European Commission on 3 March 2010 for advancement of the economy of the European Union. It aims at a " smart, sustainable, inclusive growth" with greater coordination of national and European po ...

strategy.

Background and objectives

The Lisbon Strategy intended to deal with the low productivity and stagnation of economic growth in the EU, through the formulation of various policy initiatives to be taken by all EU member states. The broader objectives set out by the Lisbon strategy were to be attained by 2010. It was adopted for a ten-year period in 2000 in Lisbon, Portugal by the European Council. It broadly aimed to "make Europe, by 2010, the most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world".

Strategy

The main fields were economic, social, and environmental renewal and sustainability. The Lisbon Strategy was heavily based on the economic concepts of: *

Innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...

as the motor for economic change (based on the writings of

Joseph Schumpeter Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian-born political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of German-Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at H ...

) * The " learning economy" * Social and environmental renewal Under the strategy, a stronger economy would create employment in the EU, alongside inclusive social and environmental policies, which would themselves drive economic growth even further. An EU research group found in 2005 that current progress had been judged "unconvincing", so a reform process was introduced wherein all goals would be reviewed every three years, with assistance provided on failing items. Translation of the Lisbon Strategy goals into concrete measures led to the extension of the

Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europe ...

(FPs) into FP7 and the

Joint Technology Initiative The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europe ...

s (JTI).

Key thinkers and concepts

Contemporary key thinkers on whose works the Lisbon Strategy was based and/or who were involved in its creation include Maria João Rodrigues,

Christopher Freeman Christopher Freeman (11 September 1921 – 16 August 2010) a British economist, recognised as one of the founders of the post-war school of Innovation Studies. He played a lead role in the development of the neo-Schumpeterian tradition focusi ...

Bengt-Åke Lundvall Bengt-Åke Lundvall (born 1941, Sweden) is an emeritus professor in economics at the Department of Business and Management at Aalborg University. Biography Lundvall obtained his MA in economics at the University of Gothenburg in 1967. * Lundval ...

Luc Soete Luc Soete (born 15 September 1950, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek) is a Belgian economist. He is a Professor and the Dean of thBrussels School of Governance He is also a member of thAdvisory Board of the University of Sussex Business Schooland of the Advi ...

Daniele Archibugi Daniele Archibugi (born 17 July 1958 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian economic and political theorist. He works on the economics and policy of innovation and technological change, on the political theory of international relations and on political ...

Carlota Perez Carlota Perez ( es, Carlota Pérez; born September 20, 1939, in Caracas) is a British-Venezuelan scholar specialized in technology and socio- economic development. She researches the concept of Techno-Economic Paradigm Shifts and the theory of ...

Manuel Castells Manuel Castells Oliván (; ; born 9 February 1942) is a Spanish sociologist. He is well known for his authorship of a trilogy of works, entitled The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. He is a scholar of the information society, co ...

Giovanni Dosi Giovanni Dosi is Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute of Economics at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa. He is the Co-Director of the task forces “Industrial Policy” and “Intellectual Property” at the Initiative for ...

, and Richard Nelson. Key concepts of the Lisbon Strategy include those of the knowledge economy,

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...

, techno-economic paradigms,

technology governance Technology governance means the governance, i.e., the steering between the different sectors—state, business, and NGOs—of the development of technology. It is the idea of governance within technology and its use, as well as the practices behi ...

, and the "

open method of coordination The open method of coordination (OMC) is a relatively new intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary cooperation of its member states. The open method rests on soft law mechanisms such as guidelines and ind ...

" (OMC).

Midterm review

Between April and November 2004,

Wim Kok Willem "Wim" Kok (; 29 September 1938 – 20 October 2018) was a Dutch politician and trade union leader who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 August 1994 until 22 July 2002.sustainable development. The Commission's communication stated that "making growth and jobs the immediate target goes hand in hand with promoting social or environmental objectives." In its resolution on the midterm review of the Lisbon strategy in March 2005, the European Parliament expressed its belief that "

sustainable growth Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desi ...

and employment are Europe's most pressing goals and underpin social and environmental progress" and "that well-designed social and environmental policies are themselves key elements in strengthening Europe's economic performance". These declarations were classed as unrealistic by some, and the failure of the "relaunch" initiative was predicted if the existing approach was not changed.

Closing review

In 2009

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

prime minister

Fredrik Reinfeldt John Fredrik Reinfeldt (pronounced ; born 4 August 1965) is a Swedish economist, lecturer, and former politician who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 2006 to 2014, and chairman of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 2003 to 2015. He ...

admitted: The alleged failure of the Lisbon Strategy was widely commented on in the news and by member states leaders. Spain's prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero pointed out that the non-binding character of the Lisbon Strategy contributed to the failure, and this lesson needed to be taken into account by the new Europe 2020 strategy. Official appraisal of the Lisbon Strategy took place in March 2010 at a European Summit, where the new Europe 2020 strategy was also launched.

References

External links

Sapir, André (2003): An Agenda for a Growing Europe, Making the EU Economic System Deliver. Report of an Independent High-Level Study Group established on the initiative of the President of the European Commission

Euractiv background article about the Lisbon Agenda

Stefan Collignon, ''Forward with Europe: a democratic and progressive reform agenda after the Lisbon strategy'', Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Internat. Politikanalyse, April 2008.
* The Economist – Charlemagne Blog
Do Europeans want a dynamic economy?

Joachim Fritz-Vannahme, Armando García Schmidt, Dominik Hierlemann, Robert Vehrkamp: "Lisbon – A Second Shot", Spotlight Europe 2010/02, February 2010, Bertelsmann Stiftung
(PDF, 340 kB)
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Study Group Europe: Paving the way for a sustainable European prosperity strategy, February 2010
(PDF, 135 kB)
Network of towns inspired by Lisbon Strategy

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