After Lisbon – Social Europe at the crossroads?

This paper is the result of critical discussions held in the framework of the SALTSA project on the post-2010 continuation of the Lisbon process. The general conclusion is that Europe will continue to need, in the future, a common strategy for growth and sustainable development which builds on the experiences of the ‘old’ Lisbon strategy. That is why the paper starts with analysing the Lisbon process and discussing its various shortcomings.

The author argues that a genuinely new strategy will have to adopt a generally different approach when setting priorities. Economic growth is namely a means to more welfare, not a goal in itself. Social inclusion and common shared welfare are not developments that will happen automatically, they have to be fostered by positive policies and by the creation of political platforms for further initiatives. Social equality and justice must be in the fore-front of the new post-Lisbon strategy. The search for appropriate and sustainable solutions is above all a political issue which Europe must first acknowledge and for which it must then develop appropriate strategies.