EUROPEAN COMMISSION
PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY
Name: East Sweden Regional Council
Contact details:
Address: East Sweden Regional Council, P.O Box 1236,
SE-581 12 Linköping, Sweden
Phone number: +46 13 26 27 00
E-mail: [email protected]
Country of residence: Sweden
Language of your contribution: English
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Member State
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Other, please specify:
Main area(s) covered by your contribution:
Economic and financial affairs
Competitiveness
Industry
Single market
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Research, development and innovation
Digital economy
Climate, energy and resource efficiency
Education
Poverty/social exclusion
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Register ID number (if you/your organisation is registered in the Transparency
register): 63120143764-71
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A) Background for the public consultation:
The Europe 2020 strategy was launched in March 2010 as the EU's strategy for promoting
smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It aims to achieve a knowledge-based, competitive
European economy while preserving the EU's social market economy model and improving
resource efficiency. It was thus conceived as a partnership between the EU and its Member
States driven by the promotion of growth and jobs.
The Europe 2020 strategy is built around five headline targets in the areas of employment,
research and development, climate and energy1, education and the fight against poverty and
social exclusion. The strategy also set out a series of action programmes, called "flagship
initiatives", in seven fields considered to be key drivers for growth, namely innovation, the
digital economy, employment and youth, industrial policy, poverty and resource efficiency.
The objectives of the strategy are also supported by action at EU level in areas such as the
single market, the EU budget and the EU external agenda.
The Europe 2020 strategy is implemented and monitored in the context of the European
Semester, the yearly cycle of coordination of economic and budgetary policies at EU level.
The European Semester involves discussion among EU institutions on broad priorities,
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In January 2014 the Commission launched a framework for energy and climate policies up to 2030. A
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below the 1990 level, an EU-wide binding target for
renewable energy of at least 27% and renewed ambitions for energy efficiency policies are among the
main objectives of the new framework.
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annual commitments by the Member States and country-specific recommendations prepared
by the Commission and endorsed at the highest level by leaders in the European Council.
These recommendations should then be taken on board in the Member States' policies and
budgets. As such, together with the EU budget, the country-specific recommendations are
key instruments for the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy.
After four years, the Commission has proposed, and the European Council of 20-21 March
2014 has agreed, to initiate a review of the Europe 2020 strategy. On 5 March 2014, the
Commission adopted a Communication "Taking stock of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth" (Communication and Annexes ). drawing preliminary
lessons on the first years of implementation of the strategy. Building on these first outcomes
and in a context of a gradual recovery of the European economies, it is time to reflect on the
design of the strategy for the coming years.
Through these questions, we are seeking your views on the lessons learned from the early
years of the Europe 2020 strategy and on the elements to be taken into account in its further
development, in order to build the post-crisis growth strategy of the EU.
B) Questions:
1) Taking stock: the Europe 2020 strategy over 2010-2014
Content and implementation
For you, what does the Europe 2020 strategy mean? What are the main elements that
you associate with the strategy?
The former Lisbon strategy was criticised for not reaching the targets, with too broad objectives,
unknown to the EU-citizens and with no available funding for the proposed actions. The
challenges facing the European Union in terms of economic crisis, jobs and growth, ageing
population, globalisation, energy/climate, etc, called for a more comprehensive and targeted
strategy in close collaboration with the Member States.
East Sweden Region (ESR) has been involved in the implementation of the EU2020 strategy
since the launch in 2010. The clear structure of the EU2020 strategy with three priorities, five
targets and seven flagships creates a framework and a structure that is easily communicated.
East Sweden Region believes that the monitoring process in general is working well, but that the
role of the regional and local levels in the implementation of the strategy must be reinforced in the
coming period.
The European Semester has improved the implementation of the strategy, with a clear multilevel
governance approach which combines EU priorities and national targets and actions. National
Reform Programmes and country specific recommendations are key elements in the monitoring
and follow-up process to ensure that Member States are moving in the right direction taking
necessary actions to contribute to the fulfilment of the EU2020 targets. All regions in Europe are
different, but they all face the same challenges. It is therefore necessary to start from each regions
specific conditions and challenges and let the regions use available EU-funding in order to
develop tailor made solutions to improve their actions towards reaching the common targets set
out in the EU2020 strategy.
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However, the knowledge and awareness about the strategy is still very limited. The role of the
local and regional levels in implementing the strategy must therefore be highlighted during the
future period to increase local and regional responsibility for the implementation process.
Overall, do you think that the Europe 2020 strategy has made a difference? Please
explain.
The EU2020 strategy has definitely made a difference with the comprehensive approach and the
multilevel governance perspective since it provides a framework where all Member States take
actions in order to achieve the targets set out in the strategy. The European semester links the
EU-level and the Member States closely together and by providing country specific
recommendations based on the National Reform Programmes the Member States receive tailormade support in reaching the targets.
At regional level, the strategy provides a framework and confirms that the region is on the right
track and taking the right actions in order to tackle the challenges with unemployment,
mismatching, social exclusion, growth etc. The strategy has highlighted the need for more joint
actions at the regional level where regional and local stakeholders agree on common solutions
and actions in order to increase regional competitiveness. However, awareness about the strategy
is very limited at local level. Local authorities are working with all areas of the strategy on a daily
basis but this work is carried out and followed-up without the context of EU2020. To increase
knowledge and awareness of the strategy and to reinforce the role of the local and regional levels
in the implementation process of the EU2020 strategy the national level should improve follow-up
and transfer of best practice at regional and local levels on a regular basis and provide arenas for
the exchange of experiences.
Has the knowledge of what other EU countries are doing in Europe 2020 areas impacted
on the approach followed in your country? Please give examples.
From a regional perspective it is difficult to have an opinion as to whether actions by other EUcountries have impacted on Sweden’s approach in general. East Sweden Region has been
engaged in many transnational EU-funded projects, targeting various topics such as smart
specialisation, youth unemployment, social entrepreneurship etc. Sharing and showcasing best
practice is one important part in EU-funded projects, and the ESR has gained new knowledge in
several fields which will contribute to increased competitiveness.
East Sweden Region has several good examples on how the EU2020 strategy has impacted on
actions taken by regional level, and which include a multilevel governance approach. Based on
the flagship A Digital Agenda for Europe the national level in Sweden developed a Digital Agenda
for Sweden. As a next step, regional authorities were commissioned by the Swedish government
to develop a Regional Digital Agenda. The East Sweden Regional Digital Agenda is based on the
Regional Development Programme of East Sweden and includes five areas of activities. Inspired
by the regional agenda, the major municipalities in the region have developed local plans based
on the digital agenda at regional, national and EU-level.
Another example is the development of a RIS3-strategy (Regional Innovation and Smart
Specialisation Strategies) which was initiated by the European Commission for the new Cohesion
Policy 2014-2020. The aim of the RIS3-method is to develop a regional consensus and
commitment between local and regional stakeholders on strong areas for innovation,
entrepreneurship and growth within the region. This process should be developed in accordance
with the EU2020 strategy, the national innovation strategy, the regional innovation strategy and
the regional development programme. The East Sweden Region developed a regional innovation
strategy in 2012, became a member of the Smart specialisation Platform initiated by the European
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Commission the year after, and developed a RIS3-strategy during 2014. The smart specialisation
process has been developed in a broad partnership with local and regional authorities, SMEs,
Linköping University, business associations, etc, and serves as an excellent example of how
multilevel governance works in practice and boosts regional competitiveness.
Has there been sufficient involvement of stakeholders in the Europe 2020 strategy? Are
you involved in the Europe 2020 strategy? Would you like to be more involved? If yes,
how?
East Sweden Region has been highly engaged in the EU2020 strategy since the launch in 2010.
The EU2020 strategy and the priorities, targets and flagships are included in the Regional
Development Programme of the East Sweden Region and referred to in other documents, action
plans, etc. Still, knowledge and engagement from local and regional level is insufficient. Local and
regional authorities are key actors for implementation of the strategy and for successfully reaching
the targets at national level and EU level. Improved local and regional engagement is a crucial
issue for the success of the EU2020 strategy in the coming period, and actions have to be taken in
order to improve the involvement of regional and local authorities. To bridge the gap between the
local/regional level and the EU level the national authorities have to request and collect good
examples from local and regional stakeholders and create arenas for the exchange of best
practice.
Tools
Do the current targets for 2020 respond to the strategy's objectives of fostering growth
and jobs? [Targets: to have at least 75% of people aged 20-64 in employment; to invest
3% of GDP in research and development; to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least
20%, increase the share of renewables to 20% and improve energy efficiency by 20%; to
reduce school drop-out rates to below 10% and increase the share of young people with
a third-level degree or diploma to at least 40%; to ensure at least 20 million fewer people
are at risk of poverty or social exclusion].
East Sweden Region believes that the targets for 2020 respond very well to the strategy’s
objectives of fostering growth and jobs. However, based on the facts published in the European
Commission’s communication about the EU2020, the aims are not ambitious enough in some
areas, since they have already been achieved.
Among current targets, do you consider that some are more important than others?
Please explain.
East Sweden Region finds all targets important in order to achieve smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth. The targets are closely interlinked since the fulfilment of one target will have a
positive effect and create better prerequisites for the fulfilment of the other targets. Education is
one key component which has an effect on all the other targets, and is therefore one of the most
important targets. By providing relevant education the skills gaps will be reduced, the SMEs and
the local industry will boost their competitiveness and the employment rates will be reduced.
Increased knowledge and higher education are also prerequisites for innovation and
commercialisation of research. Education and employment are also key issues in order to reduce
poverty and social exclusion.
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Do you find it useful that EU-level targets are broken down into national targets? If so,
what is, in your view, the best way to set national targets? So far, have the national
targets been set appropriately/too ambitiously/not ambitiously enough?
East Sweden Region believes that it is very important to break down the EU-targets to national
targets in order to benchmark and compare improvements between different Member States.
However, to improve the engagement of the local and regional levels in the implementation
process, the East Sweden Region calls for a better dialogue between the national and
regional/local levels when defining the national targets. Sweden has been criticised for setting
targets that are not ambitious enough, for example concerning poverty and social exclusion.
Regarding the targets on education, there should be national targets not only for drop-outs in
upper-secondary school but also for compulsory school. The study “Young people who don’t
complete upper-secondary school in Östra Mellansverige” conducted by the East Sweden Region
in 2014 indicates that young peoples’ socio-economic background plays a significant role when it
comes to completing upper-secondary school or not. The study also shows that achieving pass
grades at compulsory school is the most important indicator for attaining the goals at uppersecondary school.
What has been the added value of the seven action programmes for growth? Do you
have concrete examples of the impact of such programmes? ["Flagship initiatives":
"Digital agenda for Europe", "Innovation Union", "Youth on the move", "Resource efficient
Europe", "An industrial policy for the globalisation era", "Agenda for new skills and jobs",
"European platform against poverty"].
East Sweden Region believes that the flagships have contributed to the strategies and actions at
the regional level and also served as an inspiration when planning new actions in different areas.
Based on the flagship A Digital Agenda for Europe the national level in Sweden developed a
Digital Agenda for Sweden. The Swedish government commissioned responsible authorities at
regional level to develop a Regional Digital Agenda. The Regional Digital Agenda is based on the
Regional Development Programme of East Sweden and includes five areas of activities. Inspired
by the regional agenda, the major municipalities in the region have developed local plans based
on the digital agenda at regional, national and EU-level.
The flagship Innovation Union is another example where the content has inspired and contributed
to initiatives at regional level, such as East Sweden Region’s innovation strategy and to the RIS3process (Regional Innovation and Smart Specialisation Strategies). The aim of the RIS3-method is
to develop a regional consensus and commitment between local and regional stakeholders on the
strong areas for innovation, entrepreneurship and growth within the region. This process is
developed in accordance with the EU2020 strategy, the national innovation strategy, the regional
innovation strategy and the regional development programme. The East Sweden Region
developed a regional innovation strategy in 2012, became a member of the Smart specialisation
Platform initiated by the European Commission the year after and developed a RIS3-strategy
during 2014. This process has been developed in a broad partnership with local and regional
authorities, SMEs, Linköping University, business associations etc, and serves as an excellent
example of how multilevel governance works in practice and boosts regional competitiveness.
Finally, the flagship an Agenda for new skills and jobs comprises several actions already
implemented in the East Sweden Regional Competence Platform and experts from the East
Sweden Region have been invited to share their experiences of this model at conferences
arranged by the European Commission.
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2) Adapting the Europe 2020 strategy: the growth strategy for a post-crisis Europe
Content and implementation
Does the EU need a comprehensive and overarching medium-term strategy for growth
and jobs for the coming years?
East Sweden Region strongly believes that the EU needs a comprehensive medium-term strategy
for growth and jobs for the coming years in order to create continuity and synergies between
different areas of activities. The medium-term strategy should be more flexible and must be able to
quickly adapt to new challenges, and be based on specific conditions in each region.
What are the most important and relevant areas to be addressed in order to achieve
smart, sustainable and inclusive growth?
Education and innovation are the most prioritised areas in order to achieve smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth, since these areas are closely connected and create synergies with other areas
addressed in the EU2020 strategy.
What new challenges should be taken into account in the future?
There are several challenges that should be taken into account in the review of the EU2020
strategy, specifically welfare challenges. The current situation in the EU with increased poverty
and social exclusion calls for a reinforced social dimension in the revised EU2020 strategy. Young
peoples’ possibilities to take part in society as active citizens and be able to influence and shape
their future are important aspects in order to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
Health inequalities is another aspect which also needs more attention in the revised version of the
strategy. The social dimension should be included in the Sustainable growth priority which needs
a broadened approach comprising all three aspects of sustainability – economic, ecological and
social sustainability.
Demographic changes and an ageing population are also challenges which need to be taken into
account in the revised strategy since these challenges have a direct effect on the economic
situation in Europe.
The current strategy also lacks several challenges in the environmental field such as climate
change, biodiversity, chemicals, etc, which should be included in the revised version of the
strategy.
Despite the proposed challenges listed above, East Sweden Region believes that it is essential to
maintain current targets and therefore recommends the European Commission rather to add or
clarify some of the targets. Continuity and sustainability are key elements in order to achieve
smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
How could the strategy best be linked to other EU policies?
The EU2020 strategy is already linked to other EU policies in a sufficient way. The challenge for
the future is to increase awareness about the strategy and communicate the important role of
regional and local authorities in the implementation process.
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What would improve stakeholder involvement in a post-crisis growth strategy for Europe?
What could be done to increase awareness, support and better implementation of this
strategy in your country?
To improve stakeholder involvement, the European Commission has to improve the
communication of the strategy to the regional/local level. Both the multilevel perspective and the
role of the regional and local authorities in the implementation process have to be reinforced.
There is a need for new arenas and new working models for developing closer cooperation
between the EU and regional and local actors. The communication must also be adapted to
different target groups in order to communicate the added value of the strategy in various fields.
The national level also has an important role in communicating actions taken by the national
authorities to regional and local actors.
The limited knowledge of and interest in the strategy at local level indicates a need for specific
targeted methods to reach local politicians and to exchange best practice on how to implement
the strategy at local level. There are many good examples of local authorities integrating the
EU2020 perspective in local development and these examples must be collected, highlighted and
shared.
East Sweden Region calls for a better dialogue between the national and regional/local level
when setting the national targets, and sharing best practice of local and regional initiatives
focusing on the EU2020 targets. National targets should be transformed to regional targets as
well as local targets so the dimension of multilevel governance becomes clearer.
In the new programming period 2014-2020 the financial instruments will be closely linked to the
EU2020 strategy which will ensure that allocated funding is spent in accordance with the EU2020
strategy. Earmarked funding is an important tool for paving the way for stakeholders to move in
the right direction and spend funding on prioritised areas.
Tools
What type of instruments do you think would be more appropriate to use to achieve
smart, sustainable and inclusive growth?
East Sweden Region believes that the role of regional and local authorities in the implementation
process must be reinforced and the multilevel perspective must be improved. Financial
instruments on EU/national/regional level have to be harmonised in order to strengthen the
initiatives and achieve tangible results. However, effective results can only be achieved if available
funding is allocated and targeted to specific areas based on regional prerequisites. Smart
specialisation and the regions’ ability to take the regional leadership and achieve regional
consensus and commitment on identified areas for boosting innovation, entrepreneurship and
growth are vital in achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
What would best be done at EU level to ensure that the strategy delivers results? What
would best be done at Member State level?
East Sweden Region suggest that the European Commission publishes an annual report about
the progress made in the last year, trends, and also examples from local and regional levels in
Europe on successful initiatives linked to the EU2020 strategy. Furthermore, the European
Commission needs to improve the communication of the strategy and showcase how the
multilevel perspective works in reality from EU level down to the local level. The role of the
regional and local authorities in the implementation process must be reinforced.
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At Member State level the national level has to strengthen the cooperation with the regional/local
level, and assign regional authorities to coordinate and follow-up the EU2020 implementation at
regional and local levels. The regional level must also be involved in the process of setting the
national targets, and be assigned to develop regional targets. Today, the regional authorities are
responsible for reporting the EU2020 fulfilment in some separate areas linked to the EU2020
strategy (regional growth assignment and the East Sweden Regional Competence Platform) but
the follow-up should comprise all areas of the EU2020 strategy. Exchange of best practice
between local and regional level and communication about good examples on local and regional
implementation of the strategy require better arenas and networks between national/regional/local
stakeholders. The national level should also invite regional and local authorities to a dialogue
about the drafting of the National Reform Programme each year which would increase the
commitment for the strategy at local and regional level.
How can the strategy encourage Member States to put a stronger policy focus on
growth?
The EU2020 strategy and its targets provide a framework and a focus for the Member States’
growth policies and actions. The strategy gives support to regional growth policies and ensures
that the local/regional/national/EU levels are working in a coherent way, tackling the same
challenges but at different levels. However, increased knowledge about the strategy remains a key
issue in order to achieve synergies and results as an effect of multilevel governance.
The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) are important tools to achieve the
EU2020 targets. The allocation and prioritisation of funds at regional/local level must be tailormade and based on each region’s specific conditions and challenges. Harmonisation of the
regulations of each fund is crucial for enabling the use of funds in an effective way and achieving
tangible results.
Are targets useful? Please explain.
East Sweden Region finds the targets useful, but regional authorities should be involved in the
process of setting the national targets. It is important to transform the national targets to regional
and local targets, and develop a regular follow-up system of the targets at regional level, linked to
the national follow-up process.
The role of the regional level in implementing the EU2020 strategy varies depending on the area
and the division of responsibilities between regional and local level. The field of education, for
example, is a municipal task, and regional stakeholders can only influence the actions taken at
local level by conducting analyses and forecasts. Regional authorities have no actual power to
claim or propose changes in the education system.
Would you recommend adding or removing certain targets, or the targets in general?
Please explain.
The R&D-target with “increased investment in R&D to 3%” is unclear and not specific enough,
since it only measures the amount of resources allocated to investment and do not give any
indication on how research has contributed to innovation, job creation, new products, etc, in
economic terms.
The target on education regarding drop-outs is only focusing on the number of drop-outs from
upper-secondary school. The study “Young people who don’t complete upper-secondary school in
Östra Mellansverige” conducted by the East Sweden Region in 2014 indicates that the socioeconomic background of young people plays a significant role when it comes to completing upper-
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secondary school or not. The study also shows that achieving pass grades at compulsory school
is the most important indicator for attaining the goals at upper-secondary school. Since the
systems of compulsory school vary within Europe it may be difficult to set a target at EU-level, but
the issue of drop-outs from compulsory school needs attention at least at national level, in terms of
national targets. Furthermore, the target doesn’t comprise young people completing their uppersecondary education without pass grades.
The target on sustainable growth only focuses on green growth, and lacks the social dimension
of sustainability, such as inclusion, citizen engagement, local democracy, equal health, quality of
life, housing standards, etc. The East Sweden Region finds it very important to have targets
comprising all aspects of sustainability (economic, ecological and social). The 20/20/20 targets
have left out several important environmental aspects, such as climate change, biodiversity,
chemical content in goods and products, etc. Furthermore, the target on greenhouse gas
emission is not ambitious enough considering that the long-term target for 2050 is aiming for a
reduction by 80%. In order to achieve this goal, Member States must speed up the process of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Finally, East Sweden Region recommends the European Commission to improve the system of
collection and presentation of data disaggregated by sex, to be able to analyse progress and
remaining challenges regarding gender differences in terms of education, drop-outs, poverty and
social exclusion, etc.
What are the most fruitful areas for joint EU-Member State action? What would be the
added value?
East Sweden Region believes that there are several fruitful areas for joint EU-Member State
actions, for example, economic governance, internal market, free movement of goods, capital
services and people, etc.
3) Do you have any other comment or suggestion on the Europe 2020 strategy that
you would like to share?
Thank you for completing the questionnaire. Please send your contribution, along with any
other documents, to [email protected].
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