Rna Zsuzsa, ELTE, nemzetkzi tanulmnyok, MA

Europe 2020

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, which symbolizes the reunification of Europe, a new era began. The opening of the borders did not mean however the automatic subsidence of those problems, which were swept under the rug or were just simply forgotten during the Cold War tensions. New sources of conflicts emerged- ethnic wars, genocides, energy crisis, concerns about sustainable development, just to name a few. Realising these challenges and spurred by the Treaties aiming to develop the Communities into an ever closer union among its members, further steps were required to coordinate and harmonise policy actions. The global economic crisis of 2008 revealed the weaknesses of the single national economies, which also affected the stability of the European Union as a whole. Comprehensive reforms and programms were needed in order to enhance growth, fiscal consolidation and sound macro-economic conditions. A comprehensive plan was first presented on 3rd March, 2010 by Jose Manuel Barroso as the successor of the Lisbon Strategy, determining a 10 year-long general proposal based on the challenges. Some of the major goals were already presented in the Lisbon Strategy, but their implementation partially failed due to a complicated controlling and monitoring system. In order to enhance greater cohesiveness among the projects, the Stability and Growth Pact now will be closely tied to the EU 2020 and evaluated together. The goal of Europe 2020 to "help Europe recover from the crisis and come out stronger, both internally and at the international level1 was adopted by the European Council in June 2010 after the realisation that the evolution of the common European Project would otherwise be moderated by external shocks. In 2010 EU drew up a general framework, with targeted numbers and seven flagship projects, while the concrete implementation is performed through close cooperation with the member states. . In order to reach these goals, members states should also put a greater emphasise on the stabilisation of labour markets, while ensuring its openness to new workforce. The goal is to
1

European Council conclusions, 17 June 2010.

Rna Zsuzsa, ELTE, nemzetkzi tanulmnyok, MA

reach a 75% of employment rate on the Europian Unions level- and in Hungary as well-, with the envolvement of young professionals, older retirees, or those, who are partially disabled. To ensure the growth, the level of education also needs to be increased, so that more qualified, skilled and better-trained workers would further promote innovation, therefore the rate of those who does not finish school should be reduced to 10%. Overall, if the number of people living under or close to the poverty level would drop below 25%, the community would show a greater cohesiveness as well as reducing exclusion, which is a main prerequisite of a cooperative society not only on a national, but also on the European level. Another major goal of the agenda is that 3%- in Hungary 1,8%- of the GDP should be spent on either private or public research and development projects. The innovation goals are aimed not only to promote a predictible and steady economic growth, through creating background institutions and promoting the research field, but also to establish work places. Thirdly, an economic-friendly approach is also emphasised, since we need to consider the impacts of todays actions on the life of future generations. On the EU level, the use of renewable energy must be increased by 20% (in Hungary 13%), as well as the efficiency of energy use. As I have presented above, a general and cohersive approach was launched, which aimed at involving not only the decision-makers on European and national level, but also the members of civil society, which provide added value to the common European project. This requires a close-cooperation and constant contact, which enhances mutual trust among the partners. The responsibility for managing and implementing a successful range of programms also lies within the hands of the state governments. Hungary, for instance, also set ambitious targets in its National Reform Programme, aiming to contribute to the common project, as I have mentioned above. The precise tartgets should be specified and determined by April and will be monitored through the Annual Growth Survey. The active involvement of national governments is important, because the fiscal policy still lies within the hands of sovereign state authorities, which need to implement reform sin order to decrease the national debt, lower the deficit and keep public finances and current account imbalances under control.

Rna Zsuzsa, ELTE, nemzetkzi tanulmnyok, MA

Therefore the EU 2020 initiative sets common goals, but also lets each nation to tailor them according to its specific resources, development, economic performance and willingness, allowing the issue to be debated on a domestic level as well. For Hungary, a successful participation in the program, and the implementation of the above mentioned goals could mean an impulse not only for a prosperous economy, but also a better integration into the already existing institutional system of the European Union. Hungary joined the EU in 2004, and now it has the opportunity to prove how smoothly it can operate with older members or show positive examples with its high tartgets for less motivated states. The integrated and open approach also enables member states to learn from each other by comparing policies through the open method of coordination or implementing their bestpractise by altering them to their own specific conditions. Politicians, scholars, and members of the civil society all pointed out, that the European Union, as a community of diverse nations with different economic, cultural and political background could only compete with the United States, Japan, or the emerging China, if its members are open to sacrifice some part of their sovereign economic policy in the name of solidarity and general prosperity. If this initiative is successful, Europe will prove that it is not only able to overcome a global crisis, but will create a linkage among the states, which is another step towards a stronger unity.

Sources
http://www.euractiv.hu/intezmenyek-jovo/hirek/bemutattak-az-eu-2020-ig-tarto-gazdasagiutikonyvet-002471 (2011.mrcius 20.) http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm (2011.mrcius 21.) Annual Growth Survey 2011 (2011. mrcius 21.)