SMART GROWTH OF THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY GOALS

Abstract. The evaluation criteria to measure the efficiency of a state’s economic policy in terms of integration processes in the European Union were determined in the Europe 2020 Strategy endorsed by the European Council in June 2010. According to the Strategy, the European Union has committed to seek progress in the fields of employment, investment in R&D, climate change and energy, education, and poverty reduction. With a view to assessing the economic impact of the above commitments by the European Union vis-a-vis small European Union countries, this article provides an evaluation of the three objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy – employment, education, and investment in R&D – and their impact on the economic growth in smaller countries of the European Union.This article concludes that many of the smaller European Union countries choose not to be ambitious enough in their national objectives of employment, education, and investment in R&D areas under the Europe 2020 Strategy and, during the 2011–2020 period, they show on average a 4.8% lower annual GDP growth than it could potentially be, i.e. they abandon far-reaching ambitious targets.Key words: economic policy, small European Union countries, Europe 2020 Strategy, employment, education, R&D

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Assessment of the Europe 2020 Strategy: A Multidimensional Indicator Analysis via Dynamic Relative Taxonomy

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14164990 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (16) ◽

pp. 4990

Author(s):

Marek Walesiak ◽

Grażyna Dehnel ◽

Marek Obrębalski

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

National Level ◽

The European Union ◽

Achievement Level ◽

Member States ◽

Europe 2020 ◽

Europe 2020 Strategy ◽

European Union Countries ◽

The Individual ◽

The Eu

Since 2010, the European Union countries have been implementing the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy aimed at smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth. The Strategy formulates nine indicators that are systematically monitored and assessed. Not all the indicators of the Europe 2020 Strategy could be used in the analysis in a direct way. Due to the limited availability and comparability of statistical data, this problem is presented in detail in part 2 of the article. The assessment of the achievement level of the Europe 2020 Strategy targets, both at the level of the entire European Union (the EU-level targets approach) and its individual Member States (the national-level targets approach) is the primary research purpose of the study. The composite index proposed and constructed on the basis of a dynamic relative taxonomy was used in the conducted research to present the diversified distance of the individual European Union countries in relation to the EU-level targets as well as the national-level targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The research methodology allows conducting the analysis taking into account the missing data. Most methods of ordering objects based on aggregate measures are compensatory in nature. This problem was significantly reduced by taking into account the geometric mean in the construction of the aggregate measure. The research findings revealed that in the years 2010–2019 an ongoing improvement in the implementation of both the EU and the national targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy was observed. In addition, the differences existing between the European Union Member States were reduced. However, none of the countries achieved the EU-level targets. Their highest implementation level was recorded in Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and Finland. The achievement level of the strategic goals regarding the national-level targets was influenced by the choice of one of the two approaches indicated in the study and adopted by the individual EU Member States in determining the set target values of the indicators, i.e., either prudential or optimistic.

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Towards the Goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy: Convergence or Divergence of the European Union Countries?

Comparative Economic Research ◽

10.2478/cer-2018-0004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 67-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Agata Szymańska ◽

Elżbieta Zalewska

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Union Member ◽

Data Availability ◽

The European Union ◽

Average Performance ◽

Europe 2020 ◽

Europe 2020 Strategy ◽

European Union Countries ◽

European Union Member States ◽

The Eu

The aim of this article is to investigate the similarities between the EU countries in terms of achieving the Europe 2020 Strategy goals. Due to the latest data availability, the analysis is based on the year 2014. The study uses grouping methods, including the k-means algorithm. The results indicate the existence of a division between the “old” and “new” European Union Member States. However, as is shown, some of the Strategy’s targets have already been achieved and some indicators have been nearly achieved, whereas among others, such as implementation of the headline indicator for investment in the R&D sector as a % of GDP is uncertain. The average performance of headline indicators for the EU–15 and EU–13 countries seems to be similar and exhibits the same trend of changes.

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SOCIAL CONVERGENCE IN THE EU-28 COUNTRIES IN THE LIGHT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY. THE DEA APPROACH

Acta Scientiarum Polonorum - Oeconomia ◽

10.22630/aspe.2019.18.3.38 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 111-119

Author(s):

Gabriela Wronowska ◽

Janusz Rosiek

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Value Added ◽

The European Union ◽

Europe 2020 ◽

Europe 2020 Strategy ◽

The Social ◽

Union Leaders ◽

European Union Countries ◽

Policy Objectives ◽

The Eu

Increase in convergence of the European Union countries has been focal for the European Union leaders, from the very beginning. The aim of the study is to examine whether any social convergence occurred in the EU-28 from 2010 to 2016, in the context of the implementation of the recommendations and the social policy objectives formulated under the Europe 2020 strategy. This article is based on an overview of the literature on the subject and the statistics of Eurostat. The methods of assessing the effectiveness of objects is DEA and sigma convergence. It is a new approach to convergence measurement based on the assessment of the efficiency diversification of the European Union countries and it has clearly been the value added to the analyses conducted so far. The obtained results in the scope of the estimation of the effectiveness were then compared to the existing results produced with the use of the methods generally recognized and employed in the literature. Conclusions were presented in the final part of the study.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF “EUROPE 2020” STRATEGY IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu ◽

10.15611/pn.2017.478.13 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 142-151

Author(s):

Ewa Dziawgo

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

The European Union ◽

Europe 2020 ◽

Europe 2020 Strategy

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Assessment of Research and Development Financing Based on the Strategies in EU: Case of Sweden, Slovakia and Romania

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13158628 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 8628

Author(s):

Emília Duľová Spišáková ◽

Barbora Gontkovičová ◽

Emil Spišák

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Research And Development ◽

Economic Reform ◽

The European Union ◽

2030 Agenda ◽

Processing Data ◽

Europe 2020 ◽

Europe 2020 Strategy ◽

Long Time ◽

The Given

Research and development have been of interest to the European Union for a long time. This topic is also underlined in economic reform agendas and plans that have the form of strategies with clearly set targets. The article deals with the issue of financing R&D activities from the perspective of the share of expenditure to GDP, the total amount of funds spent on R&D, the share of expenditure per capita, and the structure of expenditure. The aim is to analyze and compare development in the field of R&D financing in selected countries of the European Union with emphasis on achieving the Europe 2020 target and to point out the expected development of the indicator for the first years of the validity of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During the processing of the article, mathematical and statistical methods (regression and correlation analysis) were used in addition to standard logic methods intended for processing data and drawing conclusions (synthesis, induction). The final evaluates the achievement of the target in the field of R&D financing in accordance with the target of the Europe 2020 strategy and, using regression, predicts the development of the given indicator for coming years.

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Can the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy goals be efficient? The challenge for achieving social equality in the European Union

Equilibrium ◽

10.24136/eq.v12i3.20 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Michaela Stanickova

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Income Inequality ◽

Labour Market ◽

Social Inequality ◽

The European Union ◽

Social Equality ◽

Europe 2020 ◽

Europe 2020 Strategy ◽

The Impact ◽

The Eu

Research background: Economic crisis hit all the European Union Member States hard, with the impact of crisis varying considerably. The low growth performance in the EU has increased concerns regarding an increasing wage dispersion, income inequality at large, and social exclusion in line with poverty. Inequality should be seen as a cornerstone of both sustainable and inclusive growth under the Europe 2020 Strategy. Social inequality in the EU is a real problem, which hampers sustainable economic growth. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this study is to introduce evaluation of social development convergence and divergence trends between the EU Member States in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The study gives an outline of the issues of the labour market and income disparities and poverty. Policymakers must be clear about what social objectives they are aiming to achieve, therefore special attention is paid to headline national goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Methods: The main task of this study is to assess social dimension and inequalities problems in the EU27 by applying Data Envelopment Analysis method, resp. time-series dynamic efficiency analysis in the form of output-oriented Malmquist Productivity Index. This study contains changes of key social equality indicators related to the Europe 2020 Strategy and compares objectives and general outlines of period 2010-2015, as well as the impact on national economics and living conditions. Findings & value added: Results contain elements of typology premises of the EU28 and point to a large diversity in inequality patterns, as the Author observes both increases and decreases in inequality at the EU level. Recent changes in social inequality have been associated with the business cycle, particularly with the accessibility of the labour market and, of course, with income inequality. Additionally, the development challenges are discussed for improvement of the socioeconomic well-being of the EU and to avoid social disparities.

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Selected problems and roles of innovation development in the Slovak Republic

RUDN Journal of Economics ◽

10.22363/2313-2329-2018-26-4-662-673 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 662-673

Author(s):

Vladimir Gonda

Keyword(s):

Slovak Republic ◽

Smart Growth ◽

Sustainable Growth ◽

The European Union ◽

Lisbon Strategy ◽

Innovation Development ◽

Societal Challenges ◽

Europe 2020 ◽

Europe 2020 Strategy ◽

The Subject

In the current conditions of globalization, the importance of innovation is growing. Innovation is a key to sustainable growth, a tool to increase the competitiveness of companies, regions, states and integration groups, a means to address societal challenges. The European Union pays great attention to innovation efforts - f.e. through the group-wide strategies of competitiveness such as the Lisbon strategy and the Europe 2020 strategy. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the fulfillment of the Europe 2020 national goals for Slovakia in the field of smart growth, to analyze selected issues of innovative development in Slovakia and to propose possible measures for its improvement. As the subject matter is extremely complex and multitangular, the paper discusses only selected issues and questions.

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