Education in the Lisbon Strategy: Assessment and prospects

Abstract

Since its formal inception in 1976, EU cooperation in the field of education has known a number of major landmarks: the launch of the Erasmus programme in 1987, the inclusion of education for the first time in the Treaty (Maastricht, 1992) and, last but not least, the role given to education and training in the new EU 10-year economic and social strategy launched in Lisbon in 2000. The article explains why the inclusion of education in the Lisbon strategy was a major step forward and one that occurred in the logic of previous developments. 10 years later, and in an historical perspective, the author presents an assessment that is mitigated - although globally positive - underlining not only the role played by the Lisbon strategy in relaunching and consolidating EU education cooperation, but also the weak implementation and ownership at national level that hindered its success. At the dawn of the recently launched new strategy for the next 10 years (EU 2020), she highlights the challenges to be met to close the gap between policy ambitions and implementation. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.