"I think that the EU with the Lisbon agenda has put the right emphasis on growth and employment"
About this Quote
The Lisbon Agenda (launched in 2000) was the EU’s big bid to make itself “the most competitive” knowledge economy, pairing market liberalization with social cohesion. By the mid-2000s, it was already criticized as overambitious and under-delivered, rebooted to focus on measurable outputs: jobs, productivity, growth. Merkel’s line aligns with that rebrand. She’s not cheering a grand federal project; she’s backing the “right emphasis,” code for fiscal seriousness, labor-market reform, and performance metrics - the language of modern European governance where ideology is smuggled in as management.
The subtext is a message aimed at two audiences. To EU partners: Germany is on board with an agenda that rewards discipline and competitiveness. To domestic voters: Europe matters insofar as it pays off in employment and growth, not abstract unity. Coming from a statesman shaped by coalition politics and economic orthodoxy, the sentence sells Europe as an instrument - legitimate when it delivers.
Quote Details
| Topic | Vision & Strategy |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Merkel, Angela. (2026, January 18). I think that the EU with the Lisbon agenda has put the right emphasis on growth and employment. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-that-the-eu-with-the-lisbon-agenda-has-19876/
Chicago Style
Merkel, Angela. "I think that the EU with the Lisbon agenda has put the right emphasis on growth and employment." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-that-the-eu-with-the-lisbon-agenda-has-19876/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I think that the EU with the Lisbon agenda has put the right emphasis on growth and employment." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-that-the-eu-with-the-lisbon-agenda-has-19876/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
