The Euro-crisis and the failure of the Lisbon Strategy

International audienceThis chapter analyses changes in employment, the quality of work and jobs, and social cohesion over the period of the Lisbon strategy. The chapter begins by presenting a mapping of how Europe’s economies work and learn, and illustrates how income equality and inequality in access to learning were linked to differences in the competitiveness of the South and the North of Europe at the beginning of the Lisbon period. The chapter then shows how mid-term changes in the governance of the Lisbon strategy in combination with the policies adopted in response to the 2008 crisis led to increasing inequality and to deterioration in the quality of jobs and work. The chapter concludes by arguing that EU 2020 reproduces the underlying weaknesses in EU governance and considers possible strategies for creating a stronger and more cohesive European Union