In March 2008, the European Council invited the Member States to give their initial thoughts on the future of the Lisbon strategy for the period beyond 2010. AK is of the opinion, that the general Lisbon goal – “for the European Union to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world” – is formulated as a declaration of war and should be replaced by a positive wording that might read as follows: “The goal is for Europe to become a dynamic knowledge-based economy that furnishes proof of the fact that high competitiveness is compatible with full employment, social security and sustainable development”.