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Europe 2020
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- Who does what
- EU Member States
EU Member States
The success of the Europe 2020 strategy crucially depends on the ability of EU Member States to play their part in:
- implementing the necessary reforms at national level to boost growth – for example to increase research investment and employment levels as well as
- cooperating with the Commission on the seven flagship initiatives.
National authorities
EU governments must produce two reports each year in April, explaining what they are doing to move closer to the Europe 2020 national targets.
- Stability / convergence programmes are submitted before governments adopt their national budgets for the following year. The contents must allow for meaningful discussions on public finances and fiscal policy
- National reform programmes are submitted simultaneously with the stability/convergence programmes, contain the elements necessary for monitoring progress towards the Europe 2020 national targets for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
- Despite significant fiscal constraints, governments are responsible for ensuring continued investment in growth, for example through education, research and innovation or energy efficiency.
Both reports should be fully integrated within the national budgetary procedure and the European Semester, introduced to improve policy coordination throughout the EU. Regional/local authorities, social partners and other stakeholders must also be involved throughout preparation to build broad-based support for the implementation of these policies.
Regional and local authorities
Dialogue between national, regional and local government will bring the EU’s priorities closer to people, strengthening the feeling of ownership needed to get everyone involved in moving Europe towards the 2020 targets.
In many EU countries, the regional or local authorities are responsible for policy areas linked to the Europe 2020 strategy such as education and training, entrepreneurship, labour market or infrastructure.
It is crucial that all levels of governance be aware of the need to implement effectively the Europe 2020 strategy on the ground so as to achieve smart, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and that each plays its part in introducing the necessary changes.
The European Union's Committee of the Regions helps mobilise regional and local authorities, which in many EU countries have powers in areas linked to the Europe 2020 strategy such as education, innovation, transport and climate change. Read more
The Committee of the Regions has set up a Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform and the European Commission provides an online networking platform to involve and enable local and regional authorities to contribute to achieving Europe 2020 goals.
