The Lisbon scorecard III: The status of economic reform in the enlarging EU

Three years into the EU's Lisbon economic reform agenda, the EU remains far from meeting its goal of becoming the 'most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010'. But the EU has made some notable progress during the last twelve months – in terms of energy liberalisation, financial services integration and, most recently, the adoption of a Community Patent – and it is far too early to pronounce the reform process dead. The Lisbon Scorecard III finds that the EU is struggling to meet its ambitious targets for raising employment rates for women and older workers, or increasing expenditure on research and development.