Europe is standing at the threshold of a new decade and with a new Commission due to be confirmed and take up its duties in the next few weeks, this is the time for all European citizens to contribute their views on the future direction of the European Union.

With this in mind, the European Commission has launched a major public consultation on the future EU strategy. It is called the EU 2020 Strategy and you can find out more by accessing this link

EU 2020 Public Consultation

You can submit your contribution until January 15th, 2010.

In presenting his programme for the new Commission, President Barroso set out his vision for where the European Union should be in 2020. He believes that the exit from the current crisis should be the point of entry into a new sustainable social market economy, a smarter, greener economy where our prosperity will result from innovation and from using resources better, and where knowledge will be the key input. These messages are the core of the working document on the EU 2020 strategy that is meant to serve as the basis for the consultation. You can access the document in full by following this link

http://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/pdf/eu2020_en.pdf 

EU 2020 will build on the successes obtained by the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs since its 2005 relaunch, but will also address some of the Lisbon strategy's shortcomings.

The Commission intends to present a formal proposal for the EU 2020 strategy early next year, with a view to the EU's Heads of State and government adopting the strategy at their spring 2010 meeting.