Ann Mettler, head of the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank, says European leaders have been too cautious about reform, backing off, for example, when it comes to tackling energy oligopolies and inefficient, formerly state-run telecom operators. "We are in a state of crisis," she says. "We can't just have a battery of lofty goals and feel-good measures. We need political will to address Europe's real shortcomings."

Ann Mettler, executive director of the Lisbon Council think-tank, said the EU needs to find a way of linking structural reforms to payments from the community budget. She advocates "naming and shaming" laggards and "naming and faming" governments that do well. Countries that meet nationally tailored reform objectives might gain extra EU funding, while those who do not might forfeit some allocations.

Editorial by Ann Mettler on EU 2020 Strategy.

Editorial by Ann Mettler on EU 2020 Strategy.

“Targets are important policy levers, even if they are not met. They allow countries to compare themselves with others, and provide crucial goals and milestones that policymakers can use to raise awareness,” said Ann Mettler, executive director of the Lisbon Council think-tank.

Editorial by Ann Mettler on European Commission consultation on EU 2020.

Ann Mettler, executive director of the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think-tank, said the new role did not come as a surprise and would be "a cross-cutting" portfolio that works across several departments. "It's important that the new commissioner embodies innovation within the Commission and challenges the conventional wisdom," she said.

"We need to find the missing links in the internal market to make it more of a reality for citizens, and this will happen online," Kuneva told a debate organised by Brussels think-tank the Lisbon Council, expressing hope that a new EU directive on cross-border e-commerce would improve the situation.

In a report published today the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think-tank, recommends that EU governments should cap expenditure at two percentage points below nominal GDP growth from 2011 onwards.