Governance and the European Commission’s 2020 strategy

Caius Tudor Luminosujuris doctor, “Politehnica” University, Transport and Management Faculty,

Chair for economic and social sciences, assistant

The EU 2020 strategy – areas of action

• Smart growth: developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation.

• Sustainable growth: promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy.

• Inclusive growth: fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion.

The EU 2020 strategy – headline targets (1)

• The employment rate of the population aged 20-64 should increase from the current 69% to at least 75%, including through the greater involvement of women, older workers and the better integration of migrants in the work force;

• To increase innovation intensity while investing 3% of the EU’s GDP into research and development;

• To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% compared to 1990 levels or by even 30% under certain conditions; to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the final energy consumption to 20%; and to increase energy efficiency by 20%;

The EU 2020 strategy – headline targets (2)

• A target on educational attainment which tackles the problem of early school leavers by reducing the drop-out rate to 10% from the current 15%, whilst increasing the share of the population aged 30-34 having completed tertiary education from 31% to at least 40% in 2020;

• The number of Europeans living below the national poverty lines should be reduced by 25%.

Implementation of the 2020 strategy

• To be able to reach the set targets, the European Union must use adequate procedures

• Even if not directly mentioned among the objectives, all headline targets require a certain degree of reform in all member states of the Union

Implementation of the 2020 strategy

• In implementing the new 2020 strategy the EU proposes a partnership between the Union and its institutions and the member states

• This partnership could bridge the gap in areas, in which the Union does not have competences transferred from the member states as well as in areas of mixed competence

Implementation of the 2020 strategy

• The EU Commission’s solution lies in– stronger external representation of the Union– stronger internal co-ordination within the Union

• This should be achieved by a procedure set up by the 2020 strategy

The coordination procedure of the 2020 strategy

• “A strong governance framework” based on two pillars:

– a thematic approach focused on the delivery of the main headline targets

– country surveillance

The coordination procedure of the 2020 strategy

• delivery of the main headline targets:– coordinated and harmonized actions of both the

Union as well as the member states as partners

• country surveillance:– state reporting and evaluation, done by the

Commission and by the member states

The coordination procedure of the 2020 strategy

• The role of the European institutions:– European Council: coordinating role– Council of Ministers: specialist role / also

legislative– European Commission: monitoring / executive –

reporting and proposals– European Parliament: co-legislator (with the

Council) and mobilizing role for the citizens and national Parliaments

The coordination procedure of the 2020 strategy

• Role of the member states and their institutions:– Partners of Union instituions– should implement the partnership– should contribute to the elaboration of national

reform programmes

The coordination procedure of the 2020 strategyIdentified problems and weaknesses

• European Council should have the ownership of the 2020 strategy and should steer it– The European Council should not exceed its role

as stated in the Treaties (Treaty on the European Union / Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union)

– Doing so would almost completely bypass the European Parliament as a representative of European citizens

The coordination procedure of the 2020 strategyIdentified problems and weaknesses

• The procedure lacks a sanctions mechanism– This could potentially harm the effectiveness of

any measures taken to implement the 2020 strategy and to reach ist targets

– Member states could be less motivated to adopt reforms, if on a voluntary-cooperation-basis

The coordination procedure of the 2020 strategySolution proposals for the identified problems

• Increase the role of the European Parliament– And therefore increase the democratic legitimation of the

EU and of the measures taken by its institutions

• Set up an effective sanctioning mechanism to ensure the effective implementation of any measures taken under the 2020 strategy– Could be modeled on the mechanism for cooperation and

verification (MCV) of progress in Bulgaria and Romania to address specific benchmarks in the areas of judicial reform and the fight against corruption

The EU 2020 Strategy in context

• The EU 2020 Strategy only refers to economical targets and areas of effect, but indirectly it refers and it affects areas like member states’ governance and administration

• A deeper reform of the EU is necessary to put the partnership between Union and member states on a more solid and democratic basis, especially in the light of measures and goals like those set by the 2020 strategy

The EU 2020 Strategy in context

• The value of the EU as a global model is not to be seen exclusively on economic terms, but also from the perspective of political and social values, as stated in the Treaties (TEU and TFEU), to which Union and member states have committed themselves