The Lisbon Council agreed that progress should be evaluated at the spring meetings of the European Council of Heads of State or Government. Since then, every spring the European Council has discussed matters associated with the Lisbon process, evaluated the progress made by the European Union and the Member States and decided on further measures to be taken. European Commission reports form the basis for the analysis and for setting priorities.
On the recommendation of the European Council at its spring meeting in March 2004 a high-level group of independent experts chaired by the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Wim Kok, was set up to review the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. On the basis of the suggestions contained in the report submitted by this group and the recommendations of the European Commission, the spring European Council meeting in 2005 decided to relaunch the Lisbon Strategy, refocusing on growth and employment.
The Heads of State or Government further agreed on improving the coordination of measures for the implementation of the strategy and in June 2005 they approved the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs for the period 2005-2008.
Taking account of the Integrated Guidelines and the schedule proposed by the European Commission, by autumn 2005 the Member States had drawn up their respective national reform programmes taking the specific conditions of individual Member States into consideration. In 2005 the European Commission issued a Community Lisbon Programme of joint action at EU level. The new Lisbon Strategy is characterised by clearer objectives and better assignment of competences and responsibilities in accordance with the partnership principle.
The meeting of the European Council in spring 2006 confirmed its commitment to the new Lisbon Strategy, refocused on growth and employment, and adopted measures in four priority areas: research and development and innovation, development of a competitive economy, modernisation of the social model, energy and climate change.
All the EU Member States prepared their implementation reports and submitted them to the Commission by October 2006.
On 12 December 2006 the Commission issued its Annual Progress Report, in which it assessed the progress made on implementation in all the Member States and proposed new measures. The report was also the basis for preparing the consultation of the Heads of State and Government the following March. The spring meeting of the European Council on 8 and 9 March 2007 in Brussels placed better regulation, energy and climate protection at the forefront.
Up to the end of 2007 activities have focused on preparations for the next three-year cycle. By December the Commission has received Member States’ reports on implementation of their National Reform Programmes. These reports are vital in order to prepare the package of documents for the next three-year period. They will be discussed at the 2008 spring meeting of the European Council, which is to be organised by Slovenia, the first new Member State to hold the Presidency.
During its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Slovenia would like to assure a smooth transition to next three-year cycle of the Lisbon Strategy and to ensure that reforms planned for the future are implemented as consistently as possible. The implementation of the Lisbon Strategy, particularly after its renewal, has been successful and it has been giving good results in the field of growth and jobs in the EU. The package of documents for the next period needs to address the challenges currently facing Europe, in particular the changes brought about by the process of globalisation.
In respect of the four pillars or main strands of the Lisbon Strategy, the emphases are as follows:
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