Does the Lisbon Strategy Matter: the Czech Experience DOES THE LISBON STRATEGY MATTER: THE CZECH EXPERIENCE Martin Potůček Centre for Social and Economic Strategies Charles University Prague SUMMARY The Lisbon Strategy developed under the auspices of the old member states and had no relevance to the accession process as such. Nevertheless, between 2002 and 2004 this strategy became an inspiration for the creation of national political programmes. The paper analyses the role of the Lisbon Strategy in the preparation of the Czech Republic to enter the European Union- and within the first two years of the country's full EU membership. It tries to identify the place of the Lisbon Strategy among other external and internal factors influencing the Czech Republic's economic and social development, including the capacity of the country to apply the Open Method of Coordination(OMC), in various policy fields. The real impact of the OMC in governance at the national level has been dramatically below its potential influence. In the new member states there is an urgent need to solve the discrepancy between the enormous public tasks and insufficient social, economic and administrative implementation capacities. THE LISBON STRATEGYAS ONE OFTHE FACTORS OF POST-COMMUNIST SOCIETAL TRANSFORMATION In general, the European Union has played an active role in supporting and mediating modernisation in the new member states. Its positive influence can be identified in various fields. Well worth noting is the EU's assistance to insti­tution and capacity building(e.g. PHARE projects), specifically designed modernisation efforts- a reform of public administration, regulatory reform, training of professionals(including civil servants), implementation of new 135