The EU growth strategy: the Lisbon strategy

Since the launch in 2000, when the European Council agreed on a common strategy for sustainable development and employment, progress has been made on moving economic reforms forward, strengthening social cohesion and promoting environmentally sustainable development in the Union. The Lisbon Strategy is a high-priority issue for Sweden, which has been active in promoting forceful implementation of the strategy, both at the EU level and nationally.

The Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs - Annual Progress Report 2009

Sweden's Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs 2008-2010 presented the Government's policy, which is to lay the basis for long-term sustainable economic development. It covers responsibility for public finances, for jobs and for the core welfare activities. The Annual Progress Report 2009 is the follow up on the Swedish Reform Programme for Growth and Jobs 2008-2010.

The 2009 Progress Report is composed of three main sections - Macroeconomic policy, Microeconomic policy and Employment policy. The Progress Report focuses on the most important measures taken by the Government on account of the financial and economic crisis. All the measures can be found in the Budget Bill for 2010.

During the work on the 2009 Annual Progress Report, the social partners, interest organisations and the relevant authorities were invited to make submissions on how their organisations had contributed to the implementation of Sweden's reform programme in 2008-2009.

Why a joint growth strategy?

At the Lisbon Summit in Lisbon of March 2000 the Heads of State and Government agreed on a joint strategy across a broad front to meet the economic, social and environmental challenges facing the EU.

The world's economy is becoming increasingly globalised and knowledge is becoming an increasingly important factor for success in global competition. Europe's population is becoming older and older, and demographic developments are putting pressure on welfare systems and public finances in the Union. The economy of the EU needs to be modernised to deal with these challenges. Global environmental challenges, particularly climate change, affect conditions both in Europe and the rest of the world. The EU Member States are becoming increasingly integrated with each other, and because of this, cooperation and joint solutions to meet the challenges are becoming more and more necessary. The Member States are working to secure a functioning internal market, with free movement for goods, services, people and capital. This is essential to prevent our economic development from falling behind that of the rest of the world.

What does the Strategy contain?

Within the framework of the Lisbon Strategy, the EU countries have decided on a range of common targets by 2010, by joining forces to strengthen the competitiveness and growth of the EU, increase employment and social cohesion and ensure sustainable development. These involve:

• preparing the EU for the transition to a knowledge-based economy and society,
• promoting IT, research and development,
• completing the EU internal market,
• implementing reforms that benefit competition and innovation,
• investing in people and fighting social exclusion,
• strengthening public finances in the EU countries, and
• ensuring that economic growth goes hand in hand with sustainable development.

Several of the policy areas concerned involve issues that lie outside EU community law. In those cases, Member States can make their own decisions on how national policies should be shaped to achieve the targets. Systematic comparisons with one another and with the world's leading countries will spur progress in the Member States.

Swedish priorities

Sweden has particularly focused on the need for the strategy to reflect economic, social and environmentally sustainable development alike. In EU work, Sweden has given special priority to action for:

• an increased labour supply,
• greater economic openness between the EU and the rest of the world,
• investments in research and development,
• a better climate for enterprise and regulatory improvements,
• continued integration of financial markets,
• sustainable energy supply and climate development.

Sweden also wants Member States themselves to take on greater responsibility for implementing the strategy and the reforms they have all agreed on. It is therefore important that the countries continue to jointly discuss and monitor economic policy and work on reforms in the Member States.