After a ten years growth strategy - the Lisbon Strategy - that gave rise to unsatisfying - though sometimes encouraging - results, the EU needs to renew its development model in order to tackle, on the one hand, the financial, economic and social consequences of the worst economic crisis in post-war history and, on the other hand, the global challenges faced by the EU, such as global competition, technological development, population ageing and climate change. These short and long term common challenges, together with the interdependence between EU economies, ask for common action.

In this context, the EU Member States need, more than ever, to have a common growth strategy. Considering that the EU 2020 Strategy, which aims at a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, is a key and horizontal question for EU's future, Notre Europe contributes actively in its definition and implementation, giving a special attention to the following questions:

 

New paradigm

The EU 2020 strategy needs to ensure full recovery from the economic crisis and allow the transition to a renewed growth model which fosters the synergies between the economic, social and environmental dimensions. The EU development strategy should aim at creating a competitive and inclusive low-carbon EU economy.

Implementation

The EU 2020 Strategy should not only be a vision for Europe; to achieve the expected results, the governance of the strategy has to be improved.

The Open Method of Coordination, in which an exchange of best practices and peer pressure is supposed to encourage Member States to adapt and adjust their economic and social policies, is insufficient to stimulate common action and to deliver the strategy goals. We need stronger tools. We need a "sticks and carrots" strategy: EU funding should be conditional on results and compatibility with the objectives of the EU 2020 strategy.

There should also be a clear share of responsibilities between European institutions and national governments. The European Commission's priority should be to reinforce EU action in the field of EU shared competences.

Communication and Ownership

A reinforced ownership through a better communication and cooperation between the national authorities, the European Commission and the stakeholders is a crucial factor in delivering the new strategy.

The European and national parliaments, the regional and local authorities, the socio-economic actors and the social partners: they must all have a role to play in the new strategy. Involving more actors will increase the pressure on national administrations and on the EU to deliver results. Communication must be used as a €œpressure tool.

EU Budget Reform

The post-2013 EU budget must reflect the EU 2020 key policy priorities but it must avoid opposing the "old"  EU policies to the "new"  EU priorities. The EU must have the means to match its ambitions. Therefore, the EU budget must be increased, namely through the creation of an EU own resource. Two possible own resources are an EU carbon tax, which would strengthen the EU budget and would simultaneously contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy, or a financial transaction tax.

In addition, the idea of borrowing money via the issue of EU bonds, that was first launched by Jacques Delors via his 1993 plan for growth, competitiveness and employment, must be put on the table, namely to fund key EU projects.

Link with CAP and Cohesion Policy

The coordination of the EU 2020 Strategy with the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy has to be improved.

On the other hand, the potential of agriculture to actively address the challenges formulated in the Europe 2020 Strategy needs to be highlighted. It is imperative that the link between the CAP, which is the most integrated EU policy, and the Strategy be re-established and deepened. Beyond 2013, the CAP should foster innovation, ensure the conditions for sustainable agriculture from an economic and environmental point of view, preserve natural resources, ensure the availability of food supplies and contribute to territorial cohesion, growth and job creation in rural areas.

External dimension

The EU 2020 strategy has to be outward-looking and, rather than preparing the EU for globalisation, it must aim at shaping it.

The EU external action must support the EU 2020 strategy in an active way. The building of a competitive and inclusive low-carbon EU economy has to go along with the promotion of the European values on the international scene. The EU won't be successful in tackling global challenges if it acts alone, as it would face the unfair competition of other countries which don't have the same preferences in term of the equilibrium between the economic, social and environmental dimensions.