Debate: Commission Work Programme
Date: TUESDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Maroš Šefčovič
Language: EN

It comes at an important moment with the European elections just eight months away, and we can look back at the unprecedented challenges and opportunities Europe has experienced over the past four years: from the climate and biodiversity crisis to the digital revolution and artificial intelligence; from Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine to the ensuing energy price and cost of living crisis; from migration to ensuring economic growth and competitiveness; and, of course, the situation in Israel and in Gaza following the attacks by Hamas terrorists on 7 October. In response to all these challenges and all these crises, our Union has repeatedly demonstrated its solidarity and unity: from the EUR 800 billion NextGenerationEU plan to modernise our economies, to the joint purchase of vaccines, gas and ammunition. Our rescue missions are helping those affected by wildfires, floods and other disasters in the EU and beyond, and our far-reaching support for Ukraine and its people continues, amounting to a total of EUR 82 billion to date. Amidst all this, we have never lost focus on our overall ambitions. This Commission has so far delivered over 90% of the initiatives President von der Leyen announced in the political guidelines in this House. In doing so, we have demonstrated that we can achieve a lot when we act together, but our work is far from done. When President von der Leyen delivered the State of the Union address one month ago in this Parliament, she made it clear that we need to continue delivering today to build the future of Europe for tomorrow. To that end, in 2024, we will put a strong focus on supporting the co-legislators in reaching agreement on pending proposals. Only a very limited number of new initiatives will be put forward in order to deliver on existing commitments or respond to emerging challenges. Reducing burdens for the benefit of businesses and citizens will be another main priority. One key task for Europe is to make sure that our businesses remain competitive in current global and economic context. This is particularly true for our small and medium-sized enterprises, so we will continue our work to reduce report requirement burdens by 25%. The potential cost savings of the proposals already adopted in this area underline the tangible benefits these measures can bring. For example, the reform of the Union Customs Code could bring EUR 2 billion in savings and the revision of the Regulation on European statistics, another EUR 450 million. Today, we have put forward additional proposals, including to postpone the deadline for the adoption of the sector-specific European sustainability reporting standards. This will provide additional time for stakeholders to adapt. We have also proposed to adjust the threshold of the Accounting Directive so more than a million companies can benefit from reduced reporting requirements. We will need to work together with other EU institutions and the Member States to make this ambition for 25% reduction in reporting requirement burdens a reality. To help ensure we stay on track, the progress we make will be reflected in the annual burden surveys starting next year, with the survey for 2023. We will continue our efforts to ensure that the green transition is done in a fair, smart and inclusive way. To this end, we will initiate the series of the Green Dialogues in order to fully and directly engage with citizens, as well as the Clean Transition Dialogues with industry and social partners. We are also setting up a strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture in the EU. Under the European Green Deal, we will launch the process to establish a 2040 climate target to keep the EU on course towards climate neutrality by 2050. We will soon present our wind power package to boost the wind industry and accelerate energy independence. An initiative on water resilience will seek to ensure access to water for people, nature and the economy. For Europe to boost its world leading innovation, we will open our high-performance computers to start-ups working on artificial intelligence. We will also propose a digital network strategy that will safeguard EU industry leadership and facilitate the emergence of secure pan-European networks. Under the Critical Raw Materials Club, we will work with our partners around the world to strengthen global supply chains of raw materials. Together with the Belgian Council Presidency, we will convene a social summit at Val Duchesse to discuss, among other things, the challenges facing our labour market. Based on the demand of this House, we will also present an initiative on European Works Councils. To continue our efforts towards a stronger Europe in the world, we will push forward with our trade agenda and continue our work on the anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles from China. Under promoting the European way of life, our concerted efforts need to be directed towards securing an agreement on the pact on asylum and migration, and I welcome the progress made in the past weeks. To strengthen these efforts, we will also present a proposal to update the framework to fight smuggling of migrants. With a Conference on the Future of Europe, the reinforced follow-up to Parliament’s own initiative reports, and with our substantive work on the rule of law, we have given a new push to European democracy. While the focus in this headline ambition should be on agreeing the key pending proposals ahead of the elections, we will also propose a Council recommendation on the development and strengthening of child protection systems. Honourable Members, Madam President, good policymaking is a team effort. In the short time we have before June 2024, constructive negotiations in good faith on important pieces of legislation will be paramount. Thank you and I look forward to your interventions.