However, so far, progress in achieving the Lisbon objectives has been poor. There are various reasons for this. In terms of the economic environment, the last four years have not been helpful to the chances of achieving the Lisbon goals. Many countries have found themselves in a dilemma because of structural weakness and weak demand, national economic performance has been poor.
As national economic performance has been poor, it has been more difficult to implement the Lisbon agenda. However, the problems in delivering on Lisbon objectives have not been solely or even largely due to outside circumstances. There is the problem that the strategy itself has become too broad.