The Treaty of Lisbon and the economic and financial crisis demand new economic and social policy perspectives for Europe. The mistake must not be repeated that EU policies are predominantly oriented towards location competition and that large parts of the budget are allocated to particular interests such as agriculture. The EU citizens also want to see the realisation of a social Europe. That is why the objectives of the EU 2020 Strategy on employment and combating poverty have to be translated into action, hence they have to be considered in the next EU financial framework.