If implemented, the strategy should bring "at least 2% growth" to Europe, Barroso said, presenting his proposals in Brussels on Wednesday (3 March).
However, he said it would be "too risky" to speculate on a precise figure as the current economic crisis had made the situation difficult to predict.
A fragile recovery from the economic crisis and fiscal problems in Greece and other EU states have sparked tensions in the euro currency area and added to doubts about whether the EU can match the economic strength of the United States and China.
The Portuguese stressed the "sense of urgency" provided by the crisis, which he said had moved sceptical EU countries to soften their opposition to greater European "economic governance".
"Now things have changed," Barroso claimed. "We are more interdependent than ever. We need economic coordination now more than ever," he argued, saying "divergences between member states have a direct impact on everyone else".
The programme, which will be discussed by EU leaders at a summit on March 25-26 before its planned approval in June, aims to prevent the bloc of 500 million people slipping behind economic and political rivals on the world stage.
Five headline targets
The strategy defines five headline targets at EU level, which member states will be asked to translate into national goals reflecting their differing starting points:
- Raising the employment rate of the population aged 20-64 from the current 69% to 75%.
- Raising the investment in R&D to 3% of the EU's GDP.
- Meeting the EU's '20/20/20' objectives on greenhouse gas emission reduction and renewable energies.
- Reducing the share of early school leavers from the current 15% to under 10% and making sure that at least 40% of youngsters have a degree or diploma.
- Reducing the number of Europeans living below the poverty line by 25%, lifting 20 million out of poverty from the current 80 million.
Some of these objectives, like the 3% R&D target, already featured in the EU's previous strategy, the Lisbon Agenda. Others like the 20% greenhouse gas emission reduction target and renewable energy objectives have already been agreed and put down into hard legislation.
"There are some things in our strategy that you will have heard before," Barroso said. "We make no apology for that. They would not be here if they had been done properly in the last ten years."
A series of seven flagship initiatives were identified where joint action will be initiated: on innovation, youth, the digital agenda, resource efficiency, industrial policy, skills and jobs and the fight against poverty.
Link with stability and growth pact
To address the delivery gap in the member states – one of the main shortcomings of the Lisbon Agenda - the Commission proposes evaluating national policy programmes alongside fiscal stabilisation plans adopted under the Stability and Growth Pact, which limits public deficits in eurozone countries to 3% of GDP.
This, it argues, would "bring the means and the aims together" and give greater political weight to specific "country reports" on the thematic policy plans.
However, this proposal could face resistance from EU member states. Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote to Barroso saying that linking the strategy's targets to compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact would make fiscal surveillance "unnecessarily political" (EurActiv 02/03/10).
But Barroso dismissed those concerns. "There is no overlap," Barroso stressed in response to questions about the strategy's links with the euro zone's rulebook. The two processes would remain "separate" in order to "maintain the integrity of the Stability and Growth Pact," the proposal says.
"Last time, we had one hand tied behind our backs," Barroso said. "This time we must grab the problem with both hands."
Policy warnings
To assess member states' progress in achieving their agreed national targets, the Commission will submit an annual report to EU leaders for discussion at their spring annual summit.
"The European Council [which brings together heads of states and government] should steer the strategy," argues the Commission, because it is best placed to "manage the interdependence between member states and the EU".
As part of this process, Barroso said the Commission will suggest ways forward for meeting the national objectives.
"The Commission will address country-specific recommendations to member states. We will also issue policy warnings in case of inadequate response. And our reporting of Europe 2020 will be done simultaneously with our evaluation of the Stability and Growth Pact," he said.
The policy recommendations already exist under the Stability and Growth Pact and carry legal weight. "Policy warnings," on the other hand, are a new instrument provided by the Lisbon Treaty (Article 121.4 of the revised EU treaties).
However, it remains to be seen how effective these policy warnings will be in influencing national policies in practice. Under the revised EU treaties, they would need the approval of member states before they are issued, making them dependent on EU leaders' willingness to name and shame each other.
'This is no Gosplan'
A high-ranking EU official, who asked not to be named, told EurActiv that the proposed new governance mechanism in the 'Europe 2020' strategy had raised eyebrows in some corners.
However, he said there was no reason to be surprised, as it was foreseen by the Lisbon Treaty, even though "not everyone had read every detail" of it. EU leaders should "take full ownership" of the Europe 2020 strategy, the official insisted.
"This is no Gosplan," he said, comparing the EU strategy to Soviet-era five-year Kremlin-made plans, which the republics had no other choice but to implement and report back to Moscow on progress made.
"This is a matter of political will," the official stressed. "And as Gorbachev once said, the lack of political will is sanctioned by history".
