A Vision For Europe 2020

An international all-star cast of thinkers, artists, and policy makers joins forces for a transparent, united, democratic Europe. This 2020 Edition features contributions by Kate Aronoff, Bill McKibben, Evgeny Morozov, Jerome Roos, and more. The European Union was an exceptional achievement. It brought together and in peace peoples speaking different languages and submersed in different cultures, proving that it was possible to create a shared framework of human rights across a continent that was not long ago tormented by murderous chauvinism, racism, and barbarity. It could have been the proverbial Beacon on the Hill, showing the world how peace and solidarity may be snatched from the jaws of age-old conflict and bigotry. But things turned out differently. Today, a common bureaucracy and a common currency divide Europeans who were beginning to unite despite their different languages and cultures. A confederacy of myopic politicians, economically naïve officials, and financially incompetent ‘experts’ submit slavishly to the edicts of financial and industrial conglomerates, alienating people and stirring up a dangerous anti-European backlash. Proud peoples are being turned against each other. Nationalism, extremism and racism are being re-awakened. With contributions from some of the world’s foremost thinkers, artists and politicians covering the full spectrum of concerns for the future of the Union, this volume presents realistic and viable alternatives to the mainstream barrage of dreadful prospects - a true vision for Europe.

Launched in March 2010 by the European Commission, the Europe 2020 strategy aims to achieve "smart, sustainable, and inclusive" growth. The engines for this growth are - Knowledge and innovation - Greener and more efficient use of resources - Higher employment combined with social and territorial cohesion This CEPS report takes an in-depth look at this major initiative and finds that the strategy itself needs to be revised in several important respects. First, the authors believe, R&D spending per se is not the best indicator of innovativeness; a new measure, intangible capital, would be more appropriate. Second, while increasing the share of the workforce with a university degree is important for competitiveness and employment, it is the quality of that education that matters more than the quantity. The study also finds that employment targets would be better reached by a skills upgrade among women who have the least education. Concerning climate change, the authors conclude that unless the EU increases the level of its ambition and adds a carbon import tariff, reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions are likely to have a negligible impact on global climate change. Finally and more generally, the report argues that the 2020 strategy should acknowledge the importance of institutional efficiency at the national level.

The future of the EU's Foreign and Security Policy (FSP) and its interaction with the world's dominant power, the United States of America lies at the heart of this book. The eight authors, experienced in government and international organizations, tackle the development of the Union's hard and soft power. Having met as a group over the course of a year at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government during the months before and after the invasion of Iraq, they coherently address the most pressing FSP issues. These range from chapters on the why and how of EU-FSP over the classic areas diplomacy, defense and development to economic and science & technology policies. Under the auspices of Stanley Hoffmann and in close collaboration with distinguished professors from Harvard University, the authors have determined the interests of the EU as a single political body, laid out a clear vision for the year 2020, and established policy recommendations. Experienced professionals such as former German Minister of Defense, Rudolf Scharping to former UN Undersecretary Karl-Th. Paschke have added to the practical quality of the chapters with their reviews.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe commissioned this report to support the implementation of the health 2020 Framework. It builds on Governance for Health in the 21st Century, a study conducted for the WHO Regional office for Europe. This report provides policy-makers with examples from around the world of how whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches have been implemented together with a set of tools to manage the complex policy process. These policy examples have been selected with a view to the priority areas set by the Health 2020 policy framework and with the following criteria in mind: they provide useful lessons, often illustrate best practices, cover a wide variety of different contexts and countries and, as far as possible, have been implemented and, ideally, evaluated. The report aims to contribute, in particular, to the Health 2020 strategic policy objective of "improving leadership and participatory governance for health". It is conceived as a living document that will be continually enriched with new examples and analysis.