Five years after its launch, the Europe 2020 Strategy now finds itself in an in-between stage, and is close to stalling. If the European Union is unable to grant it a decisive new lease of life, there is a high risk that it will see the Europe 2020 Strategy fail, following on from the failure of the Lisbon Strategy. This is why the mid-term review of the strategy is a unique opportunity to give it the shot in the arm that is needed to successfully relaunch it.
The ESEC calls upon the Commission to present its mid-term review of the Europe 2020 Strategy without delay, in view of the need to make progress in the attainment of targets for poverty reduction, employment, and education.
For 2015-2020 and beyond, the ESEC does not recommend setting new numerical targets; rather, existing tools should be improved. Above all, the ESEC calls upon the Commission to present ambitious proposals that are squarely in alignment with a sustainable development model.
The Commission and Member States must place the Europe 2020 Strategy centre-stage and give it a new lease of life, which cannot just be a dashboard of European indicators, in order to meet the challenges of the future, such as how to prepare for a fair transition of the global economy, i.e. one that is socially just and environmentally sustainable, and how to adapt to new trends such as the exchange and sharing economy through technological transformation.
Europe must come together and step up cooperation among Member States on a plan for the future that fosters solidarity if it is to rekindle hope and meet the expectations and needs of its citizens.
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