The Lisbon scorecard VIII: Is Europe ready for an economic storm?

After more than half a decade of economic gloom, the years 2006 and 2007 restored some much-needed optimism to Europe. Faster GDP growth and falling unemployment were at least partly due to the implementation of structural reform. But governments must not become complacent, especially at a time when a global downturn is set to test Europe’s economic resilience. The Lisbon Scorecard VIII shows how much EU member-states still have to do to encourage innovation, bring people into the workforce, cut greenhouse gases and meet their many other Lisbon targets.