IMPLEMENTATION OF EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY - THE TAXONOMIC ANALYSIS

Purpose of the article The article concerns the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy. The main aim was to analyse the spatial diversity of countries in terms of the degree of implementation of the strategy and the progress that countries have made in this regard. An attempt was made to assess the relative developmental disparities between countries. Methodology/methods The methods of multivariate statistical analysis were applied. To assess the degree of implementation of the strategy a dynamic version of Hellwig's synthetic variable method was used. The analysis of the disparities between countries was made with a dynamic measure of the relative taxonomy, proposed by Wydymus. Scientific aim The scientific aim was to evaluate the progress made by countries in implementing the objectives of the strategy and the relative developmental disparities between Member States with particular attention to the countries that joined the EU in 2004. Findings The study confirmed the strong differentiation of EU Member States. The majority of countries that joined the Community in 2004, has made significant progress and reduced the disparities compared to others. The countries, political leaders of EU (Germany, France, Great Britain, and Italy) have achieved rather disappointing results. Conclusions Most of the countries made significant progress in achieving specific objectives such as increasing investment in R & D, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increase the use of renewable energy and reducing the number of young people do not continue education. The biggest problem remains the fight against poverty and social exclusion. The evaluation of the progress made by individual EU members can not only help to identify good practices, but also to prevent making the same mistakes. The results of the study can be used by the European Commission as well as the institutions and authorities of the different countries of the Community to evaluate the progress made and to take appropriate actions.