The first good news about the progress of the Lisbon Strategy: the European Commission has published its Intermediate Report on the implementation of the EU programmes that form part of the Lisbon Strategy, positively evaluating the action at the EU level in the framework of the “Partnership for growth and employment”. It emerges from the report that, at the legislative level, the Commission has adopted 75 of the 102 measures planned; most of them are now lying in the in-tray of the European Council and Parliament, awaiting possible amendments. In particular, the most significant progress is registered in the sectors “knowledge and innovation” (the target is a minimum quota of 3% of GDP for investments in research by 2010), “investment attraction” (comprising the recent adoption of the “Agenda for competitiveness abroad”) and “more numerous and better quality jobs”. The annual Report – including an overall assessment of national programmes and any new proposals for the revival of the Lisbon Strategy – is awaited on 12 December this year.
