The role of the European courts in delivering EU policymaking goals
Economic growth and competitiveness have been given recent attention as key ways out of the economic crisis in Europe. This is in line with the Lisbon Strategy, an EU policy to be achieved by 2020. Implementation gaps have occurred in the process of translating EU goals into national practice. This led the EU-funded LAW2020 (Judges as policy makers? Law under the Lisbon Strategy 2020) project to address this deficit. Project partners examined the link between EU courts and the EU policymaking process in the fields of equality and employment policy, fiscal policy and social protection. Specifically, they identified the relation between the Lisbon Strategy's policy goals and the role of the courts in executing market freedoms and other rights protected under the EU treaties. The relation between the courts and the Strategy's softer new governance framework was also considered. In addition, the LAW2020 team studied differences in the role played by the courts in implementing the Strategy across different policymaking areas. They also examined what this can reveal about the broader effectiveness of the Lisbon 2020 framework. Findings reveal that the EU crisis greatly influenced the ability of the Lisbon Strategy to deliver its targets in the three fields. In addition, the courts developed a relatively deferential approach towards policymaking in the social and economic domains during the crisis. Project outcomes were mainly disseminated in several articles and book publications and at international conferences, including a high-level conference in Berlin in 2016. LAW2020 provided greater opportunities for research collaboration, which should translate to better integration into European academic systems in the future.
