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Against a backdrop of high unemployment, the European Council (EC) launched the European Employment Strategy (EES) in 1997, paving the way for Member States and the Commission to reach common targets and objectives for more and better jobs in Europe. At the Lisbon European Council in 2000 the European Union (EU) set itself a new strategic goal for the following decade: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The focus of the EES shifted from reducing unemployment to regaining the conditions for full employment, came into the very heart of European policy priorities and subsequently became a benchmark and the model for several open methods of coordination including social protection and education and training, above all achieving concrete results at the forefront of European citizens' concerns. This report looks at the EES since 1997. It is noted that the employment rates of older workers, women, as well as the overall rates, have risen substantially while both unemployment and longterm unemployment rates have fallen significantly (the latter by about a third). This success cannot all be attributed to the EES, but a substantial part can: employment performance is better because Member States can better enact their employment policies and learn from each other how to achieve common targets.