Poetry and Reality about the Future of the Union: Reflections on the Dimensions and Nature of the Re-Iaunch of the Lisbon Strategy

This article focuses on the Lisbon Strategy. Ever since its adoption in March 2000 the Lisbon Strategy of the European Union has been seen in at least two dimensions. On the one hand, it was seen as a resolute turn away from the concept of fortress Europe, but also from the more federalist vision of European integration that would have gradually de-emphasised the role of nation states as ultimate power brokers. The Lisbon Strategy has indeed been different from, say, the Stability and Growth Pact which contains only a few, if contested, but clearly operational objectives.