Brussels, 16/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - The results of the EUROPE 2020 Strategy mid-term review are based on several months of debate between the member states. On Tuesday 16 December at the General Affairs Council, the Italian presidency of the Council of the EU presented these results. A single sentence can sum up the accomplishments, “the current EUROPE 2020 Strategy for growth and employment remains appropriate and valid”.
Launched for a ten-year period in 2010, the strategy sets out eight EU targets: a job for 75% of the population aged between 20 and 64; investment of 3% of the EU's GDP in research and development; reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 20% (indeed 30% if the conditions allow) compared to 1990 levels; up to 20% use of energy coming from renewable sources; a 20% increase in energy efficiency; a cut in the rate of early school leavers to less than 10%; a higher education diploma for at least 40% of the population aged between 30 and 34; reducing the number of people affected or threatened by poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million.
Since September, the mid-term review for this strategy has been examined by all the different groupings at the Council. It reveals that the member states do not want to change the targets set out, even though a lot of them have little chance of attaining them. In the context of the seven flagship initiatives in this strategy, the balance sheet is far from good and the added value on the ground is deemed to be weak. Emphasis has now been placed on effective implementation rather than what targets can be attained, by using existing tools and instruments and by attempting to improve the framework for governance. The European Semester process has subsequently been at the heart of the discussions. Two central thrusts of the reform process are now being promoted, one targeting content and the other, procedures.
On the issue of content, member states would like to see a more general and balanced integration of the economic, social and environmental aspects. With regard to the procedural aspects, the scope of potential reform is extremely extensive: a revised timetable for leaving more time to the member states to discuss and respond to European Commission ideas; more targeted recommendations for each country; compulsory reporting from member states on the action that they have taken (peer pressure, comparative assessments); a less prescriptive approach towards recommendations for each country and greater flexibility for member states in the definition of the measures they are taking. (JK)