At times like those, visions tend to become oversized - which is fine for visions. European Monetary Union started off once as a seemingly oversized vision, too. The original plan was aired as early as 1970. From then on, it took more than 30 years before you could feel the change in your pocket.
Now that we are almost six years into the euro era, we can safely conclude that the euro was a vision worth pursuing. The vision of a stable single European currency has come true. 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.