Axel A Weber: Stability and growth (Central Bank Articles and Speeches)

The Lisbon project basically aims at boosting the EU member states’ potential for dynamic growth. Progress towards the Lisbon goal hinges crucially on the efforts of national governments. For keeping up spirits during the nitty-gritty of making this vision become reality, European leaders need, as the Kok report rightly states, “to instil (the) hope that tomorrow will be better than today”. This visionary stance contrasts sharply with the present reality, where there is a prevalent, rather vague sense of Europe being an underachiever.