Report: Name and Shame Slow EU States

Governments should be "named and shamed" if they slow progress towards making the EU the most competitive economy in the world by 2010, according to a long-awaited report on how to invigorate the EU’s economic goals -- the so-called Lisbon process. Drawn up by former Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, the report was presented on Wednesday to European Commission President Romano Prodi and will be handed to EU leaders later this week during a meeting in Brussels. Under Kok’s proposals, league tables would be drawn up, ranking each EU state according to its progress made in economic reform, in a bid to "name and shame" sluggish countries. Kok called on governments to draw up two-year "action plans" to flesh out how they intend to hit their economic targets. The report stressed how important progress is on the Lisbon strategy, warning, "nothing less than the prosperity of the European model is at stake" and "at risk … is the sustainability of the society Europe has built." (EUobserver.com)