Substantial efforts have also been made, however, to shape this budget in accordance with the Lisbon strategy, to provide even more resources than those provided by the Commission in the draft budget for the Erasmus programme, for lifelong learning, because there is a question which we must ask ourselves honestly, namely, whether this is a useful budget, but, first and foremost we have a fundamental yardstick: the usefulness of the budget must be tailored to Europe's citizens.
Visalt töötati siiski ka selle nimel, et viia see eelarve vastavusse Lissaboni strateegiaga ja eraldada komisjoni poolt eelarveprojektis ette nähtust isegi rohkem vahendeid programmile Erasmus ja elukestvale õppele, sest eelarve peab olema kasulik. Just seda peame endalt ausalt küsima; kuid kõige põhilisem mõõdupuu, millest peame lähtuma, on eelarve kasulikkus Euroopa kodanike jaoks.