EU 2020 strategy

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EU 2020 strategy

• Vasco Cal, BEPA
• (Bureau of European Policy Advisers)

Committee of Regions 19 January 2010, Brussels
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Disclaimer

• The views expressed are my own and do not
  necessarily reflect those of the European
  Commission.
• The Commission launched a public consultation on
  the future EU 2020 strategy (from 24.11.2009 to
  15.01.2010)

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Outline

1. A more political Europe Presidents political
   guidelines
2. Challenges Europe faces
3. A vision for EU 2020
4. Making it happen

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A more political Europe

• We live in extraordinary times. It is the worst
  economic and financial crisis in decades. For
  Europe, this is a moment of truth
• The alternatives are clear a stark choice has to
  be made. Either Europeans accept to face this
  challenge together or else we slide towards
  irrelevance
• The European Union has had almost 60 years as a
  laboratory for cross-border supranational
  cooperation, making it a natural champion of
  global governance
• The European Union has the critical mass to
  project our values and to defend our interests
  More than ever, this requires a strong European
  Union but this does not mean more centralization
  of powers in Brussels

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Global Europe - EU global assets

• EU is the largest trading power,
• The biggest donor of development assistance,
• A powerhouse of humanitarian aid,
• A beacon of human rights,
• A champion of the global fight against climate
  change,
• A leading partner on global responsible financial
  regulation.

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Challenges Europe faces (1)

• In addition to globalization, there are four
  major trends or evolutionary dynamics to
  consider
• demographics or population dynamics
• growth and development trends around the world,
  leading to major shifts in the geographical
  distribution global power
• limited resources available on Earth all people
  and nations in the world share the global surface
  with its limited resources and environmental
  constraints
• technological change and innovation.

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Challenges Europe faces (2)

• Europe will promote its values and interests not
  only in the immediate neighborhood Europe can
  become a true partner in leadership on the global
  scale
• At multilateral level, in the UN context, with
  our partners engaging with emerging economies
  and credibly champion the cause of human rights
  and development
• The Lisbon Treaty introduced important and
  helpful changes on external relations. What we
  need now is more political will from Member
  States the European Council will have an
  important role to play

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A vision for EU 2020 (1)

• The strategy will comprise a more convergent and
  coordinated approach for the reform of the
  European economies through investment in new
  sources of growth.
• The European project goes much further than its
  economic dimension based on values of peace,
  human rights, freedom, justice and solidarity

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A vision for EU 2020 (2)

• Creating value by basing growth on knowledge
  Opportunity and social cohesion will be enhanced
  in a world where innovation makes the difference
  in both products and processes, harnessing the
  potential of education, research and of the
  digital economy
• Empowering people in inclusive societies The
  acquisition of new skills, fostering creativity
  and innovation, the development of
  entrepreneurship and a smooth transition between
  jobs will be crucial in a world which will offer
  more jobs in exchange for greater adaptability
• A competitive, connected and greener economy The
  EU should compete more effectively and increase
  its productivity by a lower and more efficient
  consumption of non-renewable energy and resources
  in a world of high energy and resources prices,
  and greater competition for energy and resources.
  This will stimulate growth and help meet our
  environmental goals.

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Making it happen (1)

• We need a strategy for convergence and
  integration which recognises more explicitly the
  advanced interdependence of the EU
• Interdependence between Member States
• Interdependence between different levels of
  government (EU, Member States, regions, social
  partners - multi-layer governance)
• Interdependence between different policies,
  between policies and instruments and the
  importance of policy integration to deliver the
  overall objectives
• Interdependence at global level none of our
  Member States is large enough to keep pace with
  the emerging economies or to undertake this
  transformation alone.

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Making it happen (2)

• The strategy will be pursued through a
  partnership approach to deliver a limited set of
  key objectives. Only through partnership can its
  specific actions and objectives be achieved since
  action is essential at the EU, national and
  regional levels, and the interplay between these
  levels which will allow the strategy to deliver
  its full potential.
• The EU 2020 vision will need the active support
  of stakeholders such as the social partners and
  civil society. Its take up across all the regions
  of the EU will also be crucial to its success and
  the Commission would like to see national
  parliaments taking a particular interest in this
  new strategy as it is developed.

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EU 2020 in brief

• EU 2020 will be both a structural reform strategy
  and an exit and recovery strategy
• Short term measures should be embedded in the
  longer term objectives
• Better articulation, closer cooperation,
  recognition of interdependence.
• The Lisbon Treaty gives us much greater capacity
  to act e.g. article 121) and also to achieve
  greater coherence in external action. But without
  political will nothing will change.