The Origins and Evolution of the Lisbon Agenda

Economic reform has once again become the cause célèbre of European integration. As the European Union (EU) gradually emerges from one of the worst financial crises in a generation and grapples with ongoing fiscal turmoil within the Eurozone, demands for and resistance to economic reform have reached fever pitch. Yet debates surrounding economic reform have been at the heart of the European integration process since its foundation. In this sense the agenda agreed at the European Council Summit in Lisbon in March 2000 represented a reaffirmation of Europe’s quest for higher levels of economic growth and job creation, to be achieved via higher rates of competitiveness within and between the Member States. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.