The decisive push for a more ambitious process of coordination of social protection policies was given by the Lisbon European Council of March 2000, with the launch of a global strategy for Europe in the transition to a knowledge-based society, combining the goals of sustained economic growth and social cohesion. Together with the strategy, Lisbon endowed the EU with a new instrument to promote more effective economic and social policies across the Union. The open method of coordination, as defined in Lisbon, should be based on commonobjectives agreed by all Member States, translated in national policies through action plans, including targets where appropriate, and monitored annually through peer review mechanisms on the basis of common indicators and benchmarks.