European leaders meeting in Brussels on 17 June 2010 adopted the new “Europe 2020” strategy for jobs and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth which aims to set out a 10-year roadmap for action to enable the EU to go out of the crisis and prepare EU economy for the years to come. For more information on the EU2020 strategy, please check the EFC Briefing “European Commission tables its proposal for the ‘EU2020’ strategy” (.pdf 39KB).

The European Council agreed on the following five EU headline targets which will constitute shared objectives guiding the action of the Union for the next 10 years:

1. Increasing the employment rate of men and women aged 20-64 from the current 69% to 75%, including through greater involvement of young people, older workers and the better integration of legal immigrants
2. Raising public and private investments in R&D to 3% of the EU's GDP while developing an indicator which would reflect R&D and innovation intensity.
3. Meeting the "20/20/20" climate/energy targets: reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% compared to 1990 levels; increase the share of renewable energy sources in final energy consumption to 20%; and moving towards a 20% increase in energy efficiency.
4. Improving education levels, in particular by reducing school drop-out rates from current 15% to less than 10% and by increasing the share of 30-34 years old having completed tertiary education from 31% to at least 40%
5. Promoting social inclusion by reducing the number of people living below the national poverty line by lifting at least 20 million people out of poverty, from the current 80 million.

Member States representatives had raised a number of comments and concerns regarding some of the 5 key targets, notably the R&D expenditure rate target, the social inclusion/poverty target and the energy efficiency target.  At their meeting on 8 June 2010, EU’s economy and finance ministers indicated that priority should be given to policies at EU and national level that strengthen incentive systems for reaching the targets. These policies should be consistent with the fiscal consolidation commitments undertaken in the context of the Stability and Growth Pact (for more information, please check “Europe 2020 strategy and VAT fraud on top of Economic and Financial Affairs Council’s agenda”).

National governments should now act to implement the strategy and report back on their progress in achieving the strategy's targets in the last quarter of each year, at the same time as they will submit their Stability and Convergence reports dealing with fiscal issues. National public authorities should implement the partnership, closely associating different stakeholders, including civil society.

The Commission will monitor progress towards the targets, facilitate policy exchange and make the necessary proposals to steer action and advance seven EU flagship initiatives proposed to move towards the goals. Partnership with civil society and other stakeholders is considered a key element to make the strategy succeed.

Further to the presentation by the Commission of the first flagship initiative on a 'Digital Agenda for Europe' (for more information, please click here) the European Council endorsed the establishment of the agenda and called upon all institutions to engage in its full implementation, including the creation of a fully functioning digital single market by 2015.

Other flagship initiatives to be presented by the Commission by the end of 2010 include:

• European platform against poverty: To ensure economic, social and territorial cohesion building on the current European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion so as to raise awareness and recognise the fundamental rights of people experiencing poverty and social exclusion, enabling them to live in dignity and take an active part in society.
• Youth on the move: To enhance the performance and international attractiveness of EU's higher education institutions and raise the overall quality of all levels of education and training, combining excellence and equity, by promoting student/trainees’ mobility and improving the employment situation of young people.
• An agenda for new skills and jobs: To create conditions for modernising labour markets with a view to raising employment levels and ensuring the sustainability of our social models. This means empowering people through the acquisition of new skills to enable EU’s current and future workforce to adapt to new conditions and potential career shifts, reduce unemployment and raise labour productivity.
• Innovation union: To re-focus R&D and innovation policy on the challenges facing our society, such as climate change, energy and resource efficiency, health and demographic change.
• Resource-efficient Europe: To support the shift towards a resource efficient and low-carbon economy that is efficient in the way it uses all resources. The aim is to decouple EU’s economic growth from resource and energy use, reduce CO₂ emissions, enhance competitiveness and promote greater energy security.
• An industrial policy for green growth: To help the EU's industrial base to be competitive in the post-crisis world, promoting entrepreneurship and developing new skills. 

Efficient monitoring mechanisms are key for the successful implementation of the strategy. These mechanisms will include:

• an overall assessment of progress achieved both at EU and at national level in implementing the strategy on a yearly basis;
• organisation of debates dedicated to economic developments and the main priorities of the strategy. Debates will include discussions on research and development in October 2010, in particular looking at how to boost Europe's innovation potential in the light of current challenges. In early 2011 it will discuss energy policy, including how it can best support the shift towards an efficient low-carbon economy and greater security of supply.

For further information, please read the Conclusions of the European Council and the EFC Briefing “European Commission tables its proposal for the ‘EU2020’ strategy” (.pdf 39KB).