The governments of the Twenty-Five stand accused of not having done enough to achieve the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy, adopted in 2000. MEPs and MPs of the national parliaments of the EU member states met in Brussels on 17-18 March, in preparation for the summit of 22-23 March, to discuss the future of the Strategy, which is aimed at increasing economic competitiveness, with particular emphasis on “knowledge” and research, employment, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. Given that the results so far achieved in this direction have been disappointing, the summit of the heads of state and of government should take steps to revive the Strategy. MPs of the various nations affirmed that “one of the main reasons for the Strategy’s unsatisfactory implementation is the lack of commitment shown by the member states in the realization of the necessary reforms at the national level”. The agenda decided five years ago aimed, among other things, at increasing investments in research (up to 3% of GDP) and in education, and at making the labour market more flexible. The pledge made by those present in the European Parliament was to exert pressure on their respective executives to keep “the promises made to European citizens”. The summit of 22-23 March has mainly economic issues on its agenda, including the reform of the Stability Pact, a review of the situation at the halfway point of the Lisbon Agenda (2000-2010), and the economic and financial prospects for 2007-2013 in practice the EU five-year budget to fully realize the recent enlargement of EU frontiers.
