Last Exit to Lisbon. Bruegel Policy Brief 2006/02, March 2006

The Lisbon agenda was drawn up and adopted in Spring 2000 to bolster the growth, innovation and employment performance of the European Union while fostering the inclusiveness of its social models. These goals commanded, and still command, a wide consensus. Five years later, in Spring 2005, judging the results as “mixed”, heads of state and government chose to refocus priorities on growth and employment and decided to streamline the Lisbon process. The main features of the new process are a longer programming period, a single set of Integrated Guidelines, and the preparation by member states of National Reform Programmes (NRPs). The essential political choice behind these decisions was twofold. First, the failure of the first Lisbon strategy (Lisbon 1) was attributed neither to its goals nor to its principles, but rather to excessive complexity and inadequate process. Second, the lack of political commitment on the part of member states was regarded as a major shortcoming. Accordingly, the revised Lisbon strategy (Lisbon 2) put the accent on national ownership and adopted a more tailormade, bottom-up approach