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"The European Union (EU) is a unique entity, frequently referred as 'sui generis', and could be viewed as an international actor from many perspectives. However, especially considering recent relative rapid changes to the international agenda, it is debatable if it in fact is, or can truly become, a global power in the near future. The EU faces many challenges in the twenty-first century, including the rise of emergent powers, changes in domestic and international politics, international economic crises, climate change and the corresponding need for sustainable development, as well as energy security and the management of international cross-border crime. The EU agreed to the Lisbon Treaty (which came into force in December 2009) to overcome the challenges ahead by bringing coherence and consistency to the Union's external actions, as well as to enhance its democratic legitimacy and integration. The positions and institutions established by the Lisbon Treaty offer opportunities for the EU to improve its international representation and influence. In my view, seizing this opportunity will depend on two important issues: one is the political will of the member states, and to build a common vision and strategy for the Union's future." (publisher's description)

One of main strategic objectives of the European Union is the development of the education and training required in the era of knowledge-based economy. The Lisbon Strategy, established in 2000 proposed a set of indicators to monitor the development process, including those concerning the area of education. The continuation and extension of guidelines in the field of education can be found in the strategic framework of cooperation entitled Education and Training 2020. Evaluations of the Lisbon Strategy indicate that there are some areas of low-fulfillment of strategic objectives in Poland. The aim of the paper is to identify and present the determinants of this disadvantageous situation in relation to a set of benchmarks suggested in the Education and Training 2010 and 2020. Socio-demographic factors play a key role in the analyses and therefore have a significant impact on the application of appropriate analytical methods. DOI:10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n3p351

Europe 2020 tried to overcome the failures of the Lisbon Strategy. Goals set by the European commission were allowed to be adapted to take account of the starting position and the preferences of member countries ("national ownership"), the monitoring process was improved and the coordination between different policy strands institutionalized (in the European Semester), and "flagship initiatives" were aimed at initiating processes to support the strategy goals. Nevertheless halfway to the year 2020 the most important goals - the employment ratio, the reduction of poverty and research expenditure - seem to be out of reach. For the education goals the quantitative targets could be reached, but quality goals should also be monitored. The sustainability goals maybe attained because of the crisis driven stagnation in economic activity, but were set without ambition and they do not lead to a fair European contribution to limiting global warming to two degrees as envisaged in the "Energy Roadmap 2050". Neither can it be said that Europe sufficiently inverts becoming the world leader in clean technology or energy efficiency. We analyze the reasons for this underperformance and we address what urgent changes could help Europe come closer to achieving its targets by 2020. Finally we consider how economic policy should be shaped by a longer run vision of Europe's position in the globalized world of 2050 as put forward in the WWWforEurope project by a team of 34 European research groups and funded by the European Commission.

Abstract The drive to economic growth has persisted in contemporary societies, despite its effects on the very foundations of the global economy, whereas the discourse of sustainability has not surpassed the level of "wishful thinking". The evolution of the global ecological footprint, which underlines climate change impact, points to a narrow path in the reconciliation of social and environmental imperatives for present and future generations and to a redoubled need for social and environmental equity. Within an approach that postulates a stronger connection between discourse and practice, both Sustainable Development Goals and COP21 Paris Agreement strengthen the strategy of universal involvement and commitment, recognizing the meagre nature of results obtained so far, and demanding alternative action for effective change regarding a new and strategic global agenda. This article reflects on this universal desideratum which requires redoubled attention to the decline - and also recovery - of environmental and social conditions.

Die Lissabon-Strategie der Europäischen Union ist ein auf einem Sondergipfel der europäischen Staats- und Regierungschefs im März 2000 in Lissabon verabschiedetes Programm, das zum Ziel hat, die Europäische Union zum wettbewerbsfähigsten und dynamischsten wissensgestützten Wirtschaftsraum der Welt zu machen. Eines der Schlüsselkonzepte der Lissabon-Strategie ist die Entwicklung einer Wissensgesellschaft. Lebenslange Weiterbildung stellt dabei ein ganz wesentliches Mittel dar, um gesellschaftliche Teilhabe, sozialen Zusammenhalt und die Beschäftigung weiterzuentwickeln. Die vorliegende empirische Untersuchung soll aktuelles Verhalten und Erleben im Handlungskontext der beruflichen Ausbildung in metalltechnischen Lehrberufen sowie die Motivationslage hinsichtlich formaler und nonformaler Weiterbildung beschreiben, um Akteure der beruflichen Aus- und Weiterbildung bei der Ableitung von praktischen Handlungsanweisungen zu unterstützen. The Lisbon strategy of the European Union is a program approved by the European Heads of State and Government in Lisbon in March 2000, which has the objective of developing the European Union to the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. One of the key concepts of the Lisbon strategy is the development of a knowledge-based society. Lifelong learning therefor is an essential tool for the development of citizenship, social cohesion and employment. The purpose of this empirical study is to evaluate current behavior in the context of action and experience of vocational education in mechanical engineering occupations as well as the motivation to perform nonformal and formal training, in order to assist actors of vocational education and training in the derivation of practical actions for support.

El presente trabajo se ocupa de describir los principales rasgos que definen el Programa Nacional de Reformas (PNR), de octubre de 2005, que el Gobierno español elabora como respuesta a la relanzada Estrategia de Lisboa, surgida en el Consejo Europeo de Primavera de ese mismo año. El PNR se convierte así, desde entonces, en el marco de referencia fundamental de la política económica y social de España. El seguimiento de su desarrollo y cumplimiento de objetivos han puesto de relieve los importantes logros alcanzados en estos años en la búsqueda de la competitividad y mejora en el empleo de nuestro mercado, así como en la convergencia a nivel de renta con la media de la Unión Europea.Sin embargo, la grave crisis internacional actual probablemente obligue a un replanteamiento de algunos de los objetivos planteados hasta ahora. En un escenario así, las herramientas del análisis cuantitativo pueden tener un papel muy relevante en la toma de decisiones en este ámbito de la política económica. En este sentido, los modelos de simulación dinámica de sistemas constituyen un ejemplo real que ya utilizan los gestores económicos públicos. --- This paper addresses the key features which define the National Reform Programme (NRP) that the Spanish Government prepared in October 2005 in response to the renewed Lisbon Strategy emerged in the spring 2005 European Council. The NRP thus becomes the basic framework of economic and social policy in Spain. The monitoring of its development and fulfilment of objectives have highlighted in recent years the important achievements in the search for improved competitiveness and employment in the Spanish market, and in the level of its income convergence with the European Union average.Nevertheless, the current international crisis likely will lead to a rethinking of the goals set so far. In this context, quantitative methods can play an important role in economic policy decision-making processes. In this sense, system dynamics modelling is an example that is being actually used by public economy managers.

In Chapter 3 which focuses on the process of Europeanising higher education and research systems of the Western Balkans, Dolenec, Baketa and Maassen analyse the implementation of Bologna reforms, Lisbon strategy objectives for higher education and research, as well as Tempus and Erasmus Mundus funding programmes of the European Commission, all of which are believed to be contributing to a single objective – advancing Europe's competitiveness globally.

The paper adds to the existing literature on the determinants of government spending in Research and Development (R&D) by considering the role of strategic interactions among countries as one of the possible competing explanations, within a spatial econometric framework. We account for several factors affecting national levels of public R&D spending, including (i) the international context – i.e. Lisbon strategy; (ii) country characteristics – level of private R&D, GDP, trade openness and the National System of Innovation; (iii) countries' similarities in relation to (a) trade and economic size and (b) sectoral specialization. The analysis is carried out on 14 European countries. First, we find that factors traditionally affecting the level of public R&D expenditure, such as the scale of the national economy, trade openness, sectoral specialization and private R&D, significantly influence the level of public R&D in European countries between 1994 and 2006. Interestingly, the introduction of the Lisbon strategy does not seem to have affected changes in the levels of public R&D spending. Second, by using different weight matrices, we confirm the existence of strategic interactions in relation to R&D spending among European countries with similar economic, international trade and sectoral structure characteristics, though not geographically close.

The Lisbon Agenda was meant to make the European Union 'the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy (KBE) in the world' by 2010. As that date has now come and gone, it is apt to ask whether the Lisbon Agenda achieved its objective. We engage with this very question by analyzing new empirical material on the supposed transition to a KBE. Theoretically, we problematize the very notion that EU policies promoted the emergence of a KBE by highlighting how the Lisbon Agenda was tied to the financialization of the European economy. Our findings illustrate the abject failure of the EU's decade-long strategy to foster a new economy and better employment opportunities. We show that the main winners of the EU's economic strategy have been the finance sector and those who work in it. In summary, we argue that, despite the earlier assurances of Bell and Drucker, it is not the scientist or engineer but the banker who has been empowered to command a higher price in the new world of the KBE.

Mit der Lissabon- und Europa 2020-Strategie haben die EU-Institutionen den ambitionierten Versuch unternommen, Leitbilder für die künftige Wirtschafts- und Sozialordnung in Europa zu entwickeln und somit das europäische Modell fit für die Globalisierung zu machen. Die Bedeutung beider Strategien für die langfristige Entwicklung der EU wird jedoch sowohl im öffentlichen als auch im politischen Diskurs vernachlässigt und stark unterbewertet. Dies begründete für mich den Bedarf einer ausführlichen, im Kontext der internationalen Situation eingebetteten Analyse der beiden Strategien und des von ihnen ausgelösten Modernisierungsprozesses. Mit der Arbeit wird nachgewiesen, dass die langfristigen Wachstumsstrategien das wichtigste Instrument der EU sind, um die im Hinblick auf die Globalisierung nötigen Modernisierungsprozesse und Strukturreformen voranzubringen. Auch wenn nicht alle gesetzten Ziele erreicht werden konnten und in fast allen Bereichen weiterhin Handlungsbedarf besteht, trugen die EU-Strategien dazu bei, die Weichen für die wichtigsten Reformen zu stellen und einen Prozess der langfristigen Wirtschaftsplanung auszulösen. ; With the Lisbon Strategy and the Europe 2020 Strategy, the EU institutions have made an ambitious attempt to elaborate guidelines for the future economic and social order in Europe and make the European economic and social model fit for globalization. The significance of the two strategies for the long-term development of the EU and its Member States and citizens is disregarded from both public and political points of view and thus greatly undervalued. In my opinion this justifies the need for a detailed analysis of the Lisbon Strategy and the Europe 2020 Strategy and the subsequent modernization process within the context of the international situation and global development. The paper shows that the long-term strategies are the EU's major tool for assisting modernization processes and structural reforms with respect to globalization. Although not all objectives have been achieved and ...

"Acknowledgements" -- "Contents" -- "About the Authors" -- "List of Figures" -- "List of Tables" -- "Chapter 1: Introduction" -- "References" -- "Part I: Policy" -- "Chapter 2: General Issues of European Policy" -- "Introduction" -- "Delegation Theories" -- "Differentiated Integration in Europe" -- "Hard Law Versus Soft Law" -- "The Community Method and Agency Loss" -- "The Open Method of Coordination" -- " National Action Plans" -- " Benchmarks" -- " Indicators" -- "Conclusions" -- "Note" -- "References" -- "Chapter 3: European Higher Education Policies" -- "Introduction" -- "European Institutions and Higher Education" -- "Brief Historical Perspective" -- "Jurisprudence and the Transfer of Power to the European Court of Justice" -- "The Services Directive: The Erosion of National Competence in Higher Education Through Regulation" -- "European Commission's Communications: Discourse as a Policy Instrument" -- "The Bologna Process at the Service of the Lisbon Strategy" -- "Conclusions" -- "Note" -- "References" -- "Chapter 4: Bologna Process Implementation Problems" -- "Introduction" -- "Is Implementation a Problem?" -- "What is the Meaning of Implementation?" -- "The Lisbon Strategy and the Adoption of OMC in the Bologna Process" -- "Education Policies: Soft Law and Coordination Problems" -- "Conclusions" -- "Note" -- "References" -- "Chapter 5: Bologna Objectives and Their Fulfilment" -- " Introduction" -- "Setting the Bologna Objectives and the EHEA" -- "Fulfilling Bologna Objectives and the EHEA" -- "Mobility" -- "Employability" -- "Attractiveness" -- "Conclusions" -- "References" -- "Part II: Practice: The Achievement of Bologna Objectives in Portugal" -- "Chapter 6: National Legislation and Conditions for Implementation" -- "Introduction" -- "Peculiar Characteristics of the Portuguese State".