Glossary three progress reports on the CLP implementation. At the end of the current three-year governance cycle the CLP will be renewed. Copenhagen criteria The Copenhagen criteria are accession criteria defined by the Copenhagen European Council in June 1993. They relate to the candidate countries and the EU. According to the Copenhagen criteria, accession will take place as soon as an associated country is able to assume the obligations of membership by satisfying the economic and political conditions required. Membership requires that the candidate country has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities, the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union. Membership presupposes the candidate's ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union. The Union's capacity to absorb new members, while maintaining the momentum of European integration, is also an important consideration in the general interest of both the Union and the candidate countries. Employment Guidelines(EGs) The Employment Guidelines(EGs) present common priorities to the member states national employment policies. They are proposed by the Commission and approved by the Council. The EGs were initially introduced in 1997 as part of the European Employment Strategy(EES), and they are among key instruments for realisation of goals set down in the Lisbon Strategy. The EGs lay down the priorities for structural reforms to be implemented in order to achieve the main economic objectives of the European Union. Their legal basis is Article 128 of the EC Treaty. They provide a policy framework to focus action on full employment, productivity, quality at work and social and territorial cohesion, as principle objectives of the EES. The EGs focus on these priorities by attracting and retaining more people in employment, increasing labour supply and modernising the social protection system, improving the adaptability of workers and enterprises, and increasing investment in human capital through better education and skills. Since 2003, the EGs have been published for a period of three consecutive years, while earlier they ware published annually. The revised Lisbon Strategy in 2005 decided to integrate the EGs together with the Broad 175