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THE LISBON STRATEGY (2000)
March 2000: The Lisbon Strategy was decided upon at the European Council in Lisbon. The Council referred to a quantum shift resulting
from globalisation and the challenges of a new knowledge-driven economy. The Council analysed the strengths and the weaknesses
of the European Union and set as a strategic goal for the next decade: "to become 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." Aspects of the strategy were:
- an information society for all,
- establishing a European area of research and innovation,
- creating a friendly environment for starting up and developing innovative businesses, esp. SMEs
Selection of available documents:
- The Lisbon Strategy (as part I of the Presidency Conclusions / Lisbon European Council):
view as online text, or dowload it as
.odt file or as
.pdf file
- Translations of the strategy (11 languages): please find them on the
Council Website
THE EU STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (2001)
June 2001: the Goeteborg Council agreed upon the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development which completed the Union's political commitment
to economic and social renewal (the Lisbon Strategy) by emphasizing the third, environmental dimension of sustainability.
The Strategy for Sustainable Development was composed of two main parts. The first focused on a number of key unsustainable
trends and proposed objectives and a series of policy measures. The priorities were to: - combat climate change,
- ensure sustainable transport,
- address threats to public health,
- manage natural resources more responsibly and stop biodiversity decline,
- combat poverty and social exclusion,
- and to meet the challenge of an ageing population. The second part of the strategy called for a new approach to policy-making to ensure that the
EU’s economic, social and environmental policies mutually reinforce each other.
Selection of available documents:
- Presidency Conclusions / Goeteborg European Council (see part II, page 4): download as .pdf file
- Translations of the Presidency Conclusions (11 languages):
please find them on the
Council Website
- The EU Strategy for Sustainable Development (exact title: Communication form the Commission; A Sustainable Europe for a Better World:
A European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development, COM(2001)264 final): download as .pdf file
- "All in one": A broschure was published by the Commission which includes the relevant part of the Presidency Conclusions, the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development,
a Commission Staff Working paper and the results of a joint public hearing of the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee:
download as .pdf file
- There is a website for the 2001 strategy and its follow-up until 2005:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/
The link to the website of
the renewed startegy is indicated below.
THE GLOBAL DIMENSION OF SUSTAINABILITY (2002)
March 2002: the Barcelona Counil welcomed the submission of the Commission’s communication "Towards a Global
Partnership for Sustainable Development", which contributed to developing the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development by addressing the Union’s
contribution to sustainable development at a global level. In the communication the Commission stated that "Humankind is increasingly aware that it shares a common and interlinked future and that
conflict and injustice on the other side of the world can have direct repercussions close to home." The communication set up priority objectives in the
following areas:
- harnessing globalisation: trade for sustainable development,
- fighting poverty and promoting social development,
- sustainable management of natural and environmental resources,
- improving the coherence of European Union policies,
- better governance at all levels,
- financing sustainable development.
Selection of available documents:
- Presidency Conclusions / Barcelona European Council (section "Environment", page 58):
download as .pdf file
- Communication from the Commission:Towards a Global Partnership for Sustainable Development COM(2002) 82 final:
download as .pdf file
THE RENEWED LISBON STRATEGY (2005)
March 2005: the European Council met in Brussels and stated that five years after the launch of the Lisbon Strategy, the results were mixed. Alongside
undeniable progress, shortcomings and obvious delays were detected. Therefore the Council called for urgent action. To that end, it was regarded to be essential
to relaunch the Lisbon Strategy without delay and re-focus priorities on growth and employment. Europe should renew the basis of its competitiveness,
increase its growth potential and its productivity and strengthen social cohesion, placing the main emphasis on knowledge, innovation and the optimisation
of human capital. The Council welcomed also the Commission's communication "Working together for growth and jobs – A new start for the Lisbon Strategy submitted for
the mid-term review."
The Council identified the following vital strands of the relaunch:
- knowledge and innovation – engines of sustainable growth,
- an attractive area in which to invest and work,
- growth and employment making for social cohesion.
The Council also reaffirmed at the occasion of the relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy that
the Lisbon Strategy itself is to be seen in the wider context of the sustainable development
requirement that present needs be met without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.
The Commission's communication which was welcomed by the Council included actions to promote growth and jobs and defined the relationship between the Lisbon Strategy and
the Strategy for Sustainable Development: "The Lisbon strategy is an essential component of the overarching objective of sustainable development
set out in the Treaty: improving welfare and living conditions in a sustainable way for present
and future generations. Both Lisbon and the sustainable development strategy contribute to ensuring this goal. Being mutually reinforcing,
they target complementary actions, use different instruments and
produce their results in different time frames."
Selection of available documents:
- Shortly before the relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy the European Parliament prepared a statement "Mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy" (March 9, 2005):
download as .pdf file
- Relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy (Presidency conclusions / European Council Brussels, March 25, 2005): dowload as .pdf file
- The Commission Communication "Working together for growth and jobs – A new start for the Lisbon Strategy submitted for
the mid-term review".
download as .pdf file
- Communication from the Commission - Progress Report 2006 "Time to move up a gear - The new partnership for growth and jobs" (January 2006): dowload as
.pdf file
- Statement of the European Parliament (March 2006), "Preparations for the European Council: the Lisbon Strategy": view as
online text
- There is a website for the renewed Lisbon strategy (the original website of the Portuguese EU Presidency 2000 has been switched off):
http://ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/index_en.htm
THE RENEWED EU STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (2006)
In June 2006 the European Council met in Brussels and desided upon the new EU Strategy for Sustainable Development. The renewed strategy
includes many aspects of the 2001 strategy (as the problems are not yet solved) but it also adds the challenge of sustainable production
and consumption and it includes the global dimension, for which there existed before a separate document (see above). The key challenges are:
- Climate change and clean energy,
- sustainable transport,
- sustainable production and consumption,
- conservation and management of natural resources
- public health,
- social inclusion, demography and migration,
- global poverty and sustainable development challenges
In all of these areas, the strategy defines the overall objective, presents operational objectives and targets and
lists actions.
On the relation to the Lisbon Strategy, the renewed EU Strategy for Sustainable Development
states:
"The EU SDS and the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs complement each other. The SDS is
primarily concerned with quality of life, intra- and inter-generational equity and coherence
between all policy areas, including external aspects. It recognises the role of economic
development in facilitating the transition to a more sustainable society. The Lisbon Strategy
makes an essential contribution to the overarching objective of sustainable development
focusing primarily on actions and measures aimed at increasing competitiveness and
economic growth and enhancing job creation. The EU SDS forms the overall framework within which the Lisbon Strategy, with its renewed
focus on growth and jobs, provides the motor of a more dynamic economy. These two
strategies recognise that economic, social and environmental objectives can reinforce each
other and they should therefore advance together".
The renewed Strategy for Sustainable Development does also stress the role of the knowledge society and refers to education and training:
"Education is a prerequisite for promoting the behavioural changes and providing all citizens
with the key competences needed to achieve sustainable development. Success in reversing
unsustainable trends will to a large extent depend on high-quality education for sustainable
development at all levels of education including education on issues such as the sustainable
use of energies and transport systems, sustainable consumption and production patterns,
health, media competence and responsible global citizenship."
Selection of available documents:
A) The renewed strategy
- Renewed EU Sustainable Development Strategy (Decision of the Council of the European Union, June 2006):
download as .pdf file
B) Documents related to the preparation of the renewed strategy
- April 2004: "Assessing the EU Sustainable Development Strategy - Exploratory Opinion" by the European Economic and Social Committee:
download as .pdf file
The European Economic and Social Committee had been asked by Ms. de Palacio, Vice President of the European Commission, to prepare an exploratory opinion on the EU
Strategy for Sustainable Development. The Committee produced a very condensed and straightforward document on the unresolved questions related to the strategy and
discussed also the relation to the Lisbon Strategy (see page 15 of the download document or
view html text)
- November 2004: Results of a public Consultation by the European Commission on the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development Strategy:
summary .pdf,
statistical overview .pdf.
Related to most of the 6 policy areas the number of stakeholders who thought that not enough progress was made was not very much different from those
who thought there
was enough progress. Concerning the relation of the two EU strategies there was the result that 69% of the stakeholders disagreed with the
statement that the Lisbon Strategy and the Strategy for Sustainable Development
complemented each other in a satisfactory manner (20% agreed, remaining ones did not know). The detailed answers given by the individual
organisations are available on the
Consultation Wesite.
- February 2005: Communication from the Commission "The 2005 Review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy:
Initial Stocktaking and Future Orientations": download as .pdf file
This document provided a short assessment of the successes and problems in the 6 key areas of the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development and
in 3 areas of the external Dimension (see "Towards a Global Partnership..." above). A more detailed overview on policy action and programmes related to these challenges is provided
in a Commission Staff Working Document as an Annex to the Communication "The 2005 Review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy: Stocktaking in
progress": download Annex .pdf file.
- March 2005: The European Economic and Social Committee organized a Stakeholder Meeting on the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development.
The result was a very comprehensive collection of recommendations: download .pdf file (4 MB).
Further information is available on the EESC Website
- May 2005: Communication from the Commission "Draft Declaration on Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development": download as
.pdf file
The Communication intended to help to direct the work on the renewal of the strategy by setting 4 key objectives (environmental protection, social equity and cohesion, economic prosperity, meeting international responsibilities)
and 10 policy guiding principles: Promotion and protection of fundamental rights, intra- and intergenerational equity, open and democratic society, involvement of citizens,
involvement of businesses and social partners, policy coherence
and governance, policy integration, use best available knowledge, precautionary principle, make polluters pay.
- The Presidency Conclusions from the June 2005 Brusssels European Council: download as
.pdf file
The Council approved the "Draft Declaration on Guiding Principles..." and decided also on integrated guidelines for growth and jobs 2005-2008
related to the Lisbon Strategy.
- The Presidency conclusions from the December 2005 Brussels European Council (page 4 of the document): download as
.pdf file
"The European Council looks forward to adopting in June 2006 an ambitious and comprehensive strategy, comprising targets, indicators and an
effective monitoring procedure; which should integrate the internal and external dimensions and be based on a positive long-term vision, bringing together the
Community's sustainable development priorities and objectives in a clear, coherent strategy that can be communicated simply and effectively to citizens."
- January 2006: European Parliament resolution on the environmental aspects of sustainable development:
view as online text
The Parliament assessed the progress and problems in the priority areas of the 2001 Strategy for Sustainable Development and considered
it "regrettable that the revision of the sustainable development policy was not carried out in combination
with the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy; wishes to see the revised sustainable development strategy become the long-term
strategy for Europe, defining the best political project capable of achieving its goals for a sustainable world fifty years from
now, and believes that the Union's other political processes for the medium term, such as the Lisbon strategy, should be compatible
with that long-term strategy"
- February 2006: Communication from the Commission "On the Review of the Sustainable Development Strategy - A Platform for Action":
download as .pdf file
The document proposes key actions, objectives and targets for the renewed EU Strategy for Sustainable Development. The Austrian EU Presidency is presently coordinating the negotiations on the strategy which will be decided upon in June 2006.
- March 2006: The European Economic and Social Committee organized a large public hearing on the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development.
A summary is available for download as .pdf file. For more info please see the
EESC Website
- April 2006: Symposium "Civil Society Monitoring the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development - From Commenting to Shared Ownership"
- There is a website on the new EU Strategy for Sustainable Development http://ec.europa.eu/comm/sustainable/welcome/index_en.htm
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