Debate: Commission Work Programme
Date: WEDNESDAY, 7 JULY 2021
Speaker: Maroš Šefčovič
Language: EN

I would like to mention, with your permission today, in particular three elements of it: the structured dialogues between the Commissioners and the parliamentary committees; the close cooperation of our institutions under Article 225 resolutions prepared by many of the committees; and the annual summer report by the Conference of Committee Chairs that provides valuable input to our preparations for the annual work programme. Honourable Members, the 2021 Commission Work Programme focuses on initiatives to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, kick our recovery into gear and plan the future we want for our Union. It marks a clear shift from strategy to delivery and has a focus on future proof solutions across all policy areas, supported by strategic foresight. A big share of the announced initiatives have already been put forward, and important deliverables will follow in the course of the year. Major initiatives we will propose still before the summer break, and they include the 2021 annual Rule of Law Report and the big Fit for 55 package.  The letter will contain a number of legislative proposals that will be key to implementing the ambition of the new 2030 climate target to cut, by at least 55%, carbon emissions compared with 1990 levels. After the summer break, in autumn, important initiatives that the Commission will put forward includes the Data Act and policy programme on Europe’s digital decade, the sustainable products policy initiative, including a revision of the Ecodesign Directive, together with an initiative on empowering the consumer for the green transition and circular electronics; the new European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, HERA; an action plan for the social economy, and the legal migration package accompanied by the revision of the Schengen border code. You are also well aware that further important work beyond the Commission Work Programme initiatives is ongoing. We have, for example, the recovery and resilient strength. The adoption of the national recovery and resilience plan is well underway, allowing the swift implementation that will deliver benefits to the citizens and businesses alike.  I would like to thank the European Parliament for its central role in agreeing on the Next Generation EU and allowing it to get off the ground with unparalleled speed.  Honourable Members focusing beyond this year, we need to bear in mind that the year 2022 marks the mid-term of the current mandate. Our collective focus will need to be on delivering the outstanding legislative commitments set forth in the political guidelines of President von der Leyen. This will allow sufficient time for co-legislators to find agreement on these files before the end of the mandate. At the same time, we will continue our joint work on the recovery process. Therefore, the next Commission Work Programme should set forth a limited number of new initiatives focusing on delivering on the remaining political commitments under this mandate. For the 2022 Commission Work Programme, managing the exit from the pandemic and working on a recovery are likely to remain centre stage, and we will make sure that we turn this crisis into an opportunity to achieve a fairer, greener and more digital society.  Honourable Members, the full implementation of the ‘one-in, one-out’ approach will also begin with the next year’s Commission Work Programme. This involves offsetting new burdens resulting from the Commission’s legislative proposals by equivalently reducing existing burdens in the same policy area.  This new approach gives particular significance to Annex 2 of the 2022 Commission work programme on REFIT initiatives. In the preparation of next year’s Work Programme, we are paying close attention from the early planning stages to whether the envisaged measures are likely to add burdens or not, and for which stakeholders.  Let me also say two words about foresight. Our annual strategic foresight report, set to be adopted in September, focuses on the EU’s capacity and freedom to act in an increasingly multipolar and contested global order. As EU institutions, we must ensure that we develop policies that are robust and future-proof. Policy makers and institutions have to be prepared to anticipate changes to proactively shape the future according to the EU’s political priorities. This is where foresight comes in.  The Commission recently launched an EU foresight network with ‘ministers for the future’ from each Member State, and I am very much counting on the active role of the European Parliament too in this exercise. I am looking forward to your views on our priorities for the next year and to continuing our fruitful cooperation in the legislative planning.