The Lisbon Strategy and the Quality of Public Finances. The role of structural and fiscal indicators in EU policy assessment

In the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy only moderate progress towards the European Union's becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010 could be observed. The EU Commission had emphasised the impact of fiscal policy on the structural reforms necessary to achieve the Lisbon objectives. This paper examines the empirical relationship between fiscal policy and progress towards the Lisbon goals and offers a critical assessment of the indicators available.