THE HAGUE, Wednesday - The Netherlands has climbed to third place in the ranking order of the Lisbon Agenda. Last year, it came sixth.

The advance was possible due to strong economic growth and high employment, two touchstones for the classification drawn up by the Lisbon Council. This think-tank uses six touchstones: labour productivity, employment, economic growth, increases or declines in human capital, investments aimed at the future and sustainability of public financing.

Finland, followed by Poland, comes first on the list, which measures the competitiveness of European economies. The biggest decliner in the ranking order is Ireland, plunging from fourth place in 2008 to 13th. Italy comes bottom.

The council praises the Dutch government for keeping spending under control, while strong jobs growth has still been created. The economic recession will however have a substantial influence next year on economic growth and employment, while government finances will deteriorate.

The Lisbon Council is a think-tank that checks the progress of European economies against the criteria of the Lisbon Agenda drawn up in 2000. The classification has for the third successive year been drawn up in partnership with German insurer Allianz.

The Lisbon Agenda was signed by 15 EU countries in 2000. They wanted the EU to overtake the US as leading economy by 2010. This ambition had to be dropped as early as 2005. Meanwhile, even the toned-down targets now no longer appear realistic.