Commission publishes Communication on Europe 2020 progress

The European Commission has published a Communication showing how the EU and individual member states are advancing towards the 2020 targets. As the economic recovery is gaining ground, the Commission decided this would be a good time to discuss policies that can move Europe decisively beyond the crisis.

Europe 2020 is the EU’s long-term growth and jobs plan, built on five targets to be met by the end of the decade. It was launched in 2010 to tackle Europe’s economic, social and environmental weaknesses, some of which predate the economic crisis and all of which were exposed, and sometimes exacerbated, by it.

The targets include getting at least 75% of people aged 20-64 in employment, investing 3% of GDP in research and development and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%. Other goals are increasing the share of renewables to 20% and improving energy efficiency by 20%; reducing school drop-out rates to below 10% and increasing the share of young people with a third-level degree or diploma to at least 40%, and ensuring that 20 million fewer people are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

The Commission said: “The Communication shows that progress on the 2020 targets has so far been mixed. The EU is on course to meet or to come close to its education, climate and energy targets. But given the magnitude of the crisis, we are not on track to meet our employment, research and development or poverty reduction goals, although results and forecasts vary widely across member states.”

The Commission monitors progress on the 2020 targets throughout the year under the European Semester for economic policy co-ordination, offering EU-wide and country-by-country guidance to member states on priority reforms. Seven flagship initiatives, often backed by EU funding, have been set up to promote skills, youth employment, innovation, the digital economy, industry, resource efficiency and poverty reduction.

The European Council will hold its first discussion on the Commission’s findings at a summit later this month. The Commission has said it consider launching an EU-wide public consultation to gather the views of all interested parties on how to develop the Europe 2020 strategy over the next five years.