Xinhua: EC says growth, jobs strategy is working

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EC says growth,jobs strategy is working

The European Union (EU)'s flagship strategy for growth and jobs is working now, three years after it was relaunched in 2005, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The Lisbon strategy, named after the Portuguese capital where it was initially adopted by EU member states in 2000, is contributing to the recent much improved performance of the EU economy, the commission said in its strategic report on economic reform across Europe. Previously aimed at making the EU "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world" by 2010, the bold strategy was later watered down and was relaunched in 2005, which is organized around three-year cycle, with clear focus on growth and jobs.

Thanks to the structural reform carried out under the strategy, the EU registered a remarkable economic growth of 3.0 percent last year, the fastest pace since the beginning of this decade. Economic growth in the 27-nation bloc is expected to remain at 2.9 percent in 2007.