ECB executive board member bemoans lack of progress on Lisbon agenda
In a presentation to the economic and monetary affairs committee of the European Parliament on 20 January, Otmar Issing, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, expressed his concern at the lack of progress towards achieving the Lisbon goals. He highlighted the importance of implementing the Lisbon agenda in order to remedy weaknesses in the European economy such as low productivity, high unemployment, and low labour market participation. 'Are we well on track towards achieving the Lisbon goals?' Mr Issing asked, 'I'm afraid not.' The reasons for the current lack of progress, he argued, are the slow pace of structural reforms in the product and labour markets, and insufficient investment in research, which continues to ensure that the EU falls well short of its target of three per cent of GDP. 'There is too little momentum in the implementation of structural reforms in the euro area,' Mr Issing concluded.