"Moving forward together: a bolder, simpler, faster Union".

Each year the Commission adopts its work programme, which lists the new policies and legislative initiatives it will propose to the legislative and budgetary authority, the European Parliament and the Council, during the year. This work programme shows how the political guidelines and mission statements sent by President von der Leyen to each member of the Commission will be implemented during the first year.

Adopted on 11 February 2025, this programme is then presented to the plenary session of the European Parliament and to the General Affairs Council. On the basis of this work programme and the priorities of the other institutions, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission draw up a joint declaration on the legislative priorities of the European Union (EU) for 2025 and joint conclusions on these priorities.

This year, the Commission will focus on :

1. Sustainable prosperity and competitiveness;
2. Strengthening defence and security ;
3. Supporting people and strengthening our societies and our social model;
4. Preserving our quality of life;
5. Protecting democracy and defending our values;
6. Use its power and partnerships around the world;
7. Preparing our union for the future.

The work programme is the result of close cooperation between the European Parliament, the Member States and the Council and advisory bodies of the EU (Committees of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee). It examines the areas in which the Commission will present new initiatives, withdraw pending proposals and review existing EU legislation.

This year's programme has a strong focus on simplification. The Commission intends to simplify EU rules, facilitate their implementation and reduce administrative burdens. The work programme is accompanied by a communication containing objectives and tools designed to lighten the regulatory burden and bring about rapid and significant improvements for citizens and businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Commission is presenting three series of omnibus proposals simplifying various legislative acts, as well as a record number of initiatives with a strong simplification dimension. The former will contribute to achieving the objective of reducing administrative burdens by at least 25 % and by at least 35 % for SMEs. They also include an annual plan for quality assessments and evaluations to ensure the continuity of the simplification and burden reduction exercise.

The next two omnibus proposals will focus on simplifying investment, and the third on simplifying regulatory reporting requirements for small and mid-cap companies and eliminating the paper format.

A package of simplification measures will be proposed for the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy.

The Commission's work programme proposes 51 new policy initiatives and 18 legislative proposals, 11 of which have a significant simplification dimension. A stock of 123 previous proposals remain to be examined by the Parliament and the Council, but 41 have been withdrawn as they have become obsolete or have no prospect of adoption.

The main priorities of the work programme are as follows:

1. Ensuring sustainable prosperity and competitiveness

This objective includes a number of initiatives and legislative proposals, which are mentioned below.

The competitiveness compass already proposed aims to tackle the structural problems that hamper European competitiveness: an unstable global environment characterised by unfair competition, fragile supply chains, rising energy costs, labour and skills shortages and limited access to capital.

A strategy for modernising the single market will be proposed to facilitate the cross-border supply of goods and services and fair and effective labour mobility.

The pact for a propre, also already proposed, is at the heart of the decarbonisation, sustainability and competitiveness project. It will help to achieve the objectives of the Green Pact for Europe. At the same time an action plan to make energy more affordablefor Europe will also be proposed. This will include a new framework for state aid and boost investment in clean energy. A roadmap will aim to put an end to Russian energy imports. The Commission will also present a 2025 indicative nuclear programme and a strategic plan for small modular reactors (SMRs) to support the acceleration of their deployment.

An action plan is planned for the chemical industry, with a targeted review of the applicable rules (REACH regulation) with a view to simplifying them.

A master plan will be proposed to move towards a Savings and Investment Union and create an internal capital market.

The Commission will also seek to harness the potential of data and information technology to improve the quality of life of its citizens. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and propose a strategy to stimulate biotechnologies. It will also present an investment plan for sustainable transport including a strategic framework to support sustainable fuel production and distribution.

Legislation on digital networks and the development of cloud computing will also be presented.

With the quantum strategy regulation, the world's leading position in this critical sector should be maintained, in particular with the strategy to strengthen Europe's quantum capacities. quantum technology research and developmentand produce devices and systems based on it.

With the European Business Wallet Business-to-business exchanges and exchanges with public authorities should open up new business opportunities.

Finally, the Commission will present space legislation to make the most of the benefits of the space economy.

2. Strengthening security and defence

As for European defence, this is becoming a matter of urgency in the face of the Russian threat to extend its claims beyond Ukraine in order to pick up the pieces lost when the former Soviet Union broke up.

This new defence area, the subject of the White Paper on the future of European defence, recently presented by the Commission to launch a wide-ranging consultation on establishing a European framework for defence investment needs, is accompanied by several other proposals in the field of security: a strategy for the EU crisis preparedness a strategy to prepare measures for dealing with the  threats to public health to reduce our dependence on external supplies critical medicines for the stockpiling of these drugs; for combat arms and drug trafficking, to improve cyber security hospitals ; protecting submarine cables telecommunications; ...

The Commission will also continue its efforts to implementing the Pact on Migration and AsylumThis includes the return of illegal immigrants.

3. Supporting people and strengthening our societies and our social model

The Commission will continue to strengthen social equity, with a new action plan for implementation of the european socle of social rights ;  Skills Union will tackle skills and labour shortages, ensuring that businesses have access to the skilled workforce they need to boost their productivity and competitiveness. It will also work to ensure that education and training systems have the right tools to prepare Europeans of all generations for a rapidly changing future, through high quality, inclusive education, training and lifelong learning, as well as through guaranteeing quality jobs with decent working conditions, high health and safety standards and collective bargaining.

The next consumer 2025-2030 will include a new action plan for consumers in the single market, guaranteeing a balanced approach that protects consumers without imposing excessive administrative burdens on businesses.

4. Preserving our quality of life: agriculture, food safety, water and nature

Europe needs a secure and affordable supply of high-quality local food produced in a socially and environmentally sustainable way, offering farmers a fair and sufficient income, guaranteeing the long-term competitiveness of European agriculture and respecting and protecting the natural environment.

Based on the results of the strategic dialogue on the future of EU agriculture, the Commission will present a vision for agriculture and food in order to guarantee a stable framework for farmers and a long-term perspective for economic operators, including farmers, fishermen, SMEs and other players in the food chain.

The oceans and seas play an important role in Europe's prosperity and security, not least through their unique ability to regulate the climate as the planet's primary carbon sink. It is essential to take action to preserve the oceans, both now and for future generations. The pact for the oceans will create a single frame of reference for all policies relating to the oceans and will define a global approach to the ocean in all its dimensions.

Sustainable water management is one of the greatest challenges facing Europe in view of the effects of climate change. Floods and droughts are becoming the norm, as evidenced by the tragic events that have affected Europe in recent years. With regard to the resilience in the water sectorThe Commission is proposing a "source to sea" approach, taking into account the very different challenges faced in different regions and sectors, to ensure that water sources are properly managed, to tackle water scarcity and pollution, and to increase the competitiveness of the European water industry.

5. Protecting our democracy and defending our values will be a priority.

A "democratic shield"The Commission will continue to integrate equality into all its policies, by presenting a number of new proposals. The Commission will continue to integrate equality into all its policies, by presenting a number of new initiatives. new strategies on LGBTIQ people and the fight against racism. A roadmap for women's rights will define, in terms of rights and principles, the ongoing commitment of the European institutions.

6. Use your power and partnerships around the world

On the external front, the priority will continue to be to work towards a stable and secure future for Europe.Ukraine within an enlarged Union, to develop a strategy for the Black Sea and a new pact for the Mediterranean in order to strengthen regional cooperation and develop a new EU-India Strategic Agenda.

7. Achieving our objectives together and preparing our Union for the future 

Over the past five years, the Union has embarked on an ambitious transformation while overcoming generational crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the economic consequences that followed. The EU has adopted innovative legislation to advance the dual transition and strengthen our resilience. It is now essential to give the priority to implementation and to ensure that the Union is ready for the future, both financially and institutionally, by building on a strengthened relationship with the EU institutions.

The Commission will present a new long-term EU budget (multiannual financial framework covering 2028 to 2034). It will be better aligned with the priorities and objectives adopted, and flexibly oriented towards the areas where EU action is most needed. It will be simpler and more effective to operate, and will make better use of the European budget to mobilise more national, private and institutional funding.

Nearly 21 years after the largest wave of enlargement and driven by the ambition to strengthen the Union through an accession process based on merit, we must ensure that we are ready for an enlarged Union. Thanks to the lessons learned from previous enlargements, the EU is now better prepared to be a catalyst for progress and to deepen as it enlarges. The pre-enlargement policy reviews will assess in more detail the consequences and impacts of enlargement on all EU policies, identify gaps, clarify what needs to be done to turn challenges into opportunities, and explore ways to improve the EU's governance and its ability to act quickly, ensuring that policies can continue to deliver effective results in an enlarged Union.

La Commission strengthen its relations with Parliament and the Councilby ensuring transparency, accountability and improved communication and information flows. All Commissioners will have to be present at the European Parliament, engage in dialogue with the Member States and take part in Council meetings. corresponding to their competences. The Commission will rapidly propose a new framework agreement with the European Parliament, while strengthening cooperation on Parliament resolutions requesting the submission of legislative proposals based on Article 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and will duly justify the use of Article 122 in exceptional and urgent circumstances.

The AEPL's opinion during the dialogue with Parliament on 18 March.

It should be noted that AEPL was able to express its views on the Commission's priorities within the framework of the dialogue provided for in Article 17 of the TFEU. In a letter addressed to the EP VP responsible for this dialogue, Ms Antonella Sberna (Conservatives and Reformists Group, member of Fratelli d'Italia, G. Meloni's party in power in Italy), our main current concerns are the preservation of democracy and the rule of law, which are being called into question by the autocratic or extreme right-wing regimes that are on the rise, the establishment of a genuine Europe of defence and the controlled deployment of artificial intelligence and information tools.

In fact, the former are the object of all-out attacks, even by democracies: the United States of America is a case in point, where the President seems fascinated by strong regimes (Victor Orban in HU) or even dictatorial regimes, such as Russia, whose expansionist or even imperialist aims he does not hesitate to copy, such as the annexation of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal.

In the USA, the dismantling of a series of administrations, either to combat the values of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) that the new President rejects, or that they are wasteful, or that they oppose conspiracy ideas aimed at advising against vaccines, or denying climate change, for example; the all-out attack on certain universities (Columbia in New York) which means that American researchers in the disciplines concerned by these values are turning to Europe; the insults and threats against judges not appointed by the new President. The repeated attempts to discredit and exclude journalists who dare to seek out the truth and check fake news, the showering of voters (even those of the far-right parties in Europe, cf. AfD) with mountains of dollars (Elon Musk) .... are, alas, practices that have an increasingly powerful echo in our Member States.

It is therefore important and urgent that the European Parliament and the European Commission continue to defend our society and our European values by involving and convincing our fellow citizens as much as possible.

The second priority expressed in this letter is to set up, at breakneck speed, a genuine European defence with all the necessary resources (strategic autonomy, massive support for Ukraine, strengthening our technological and industrial base, giving Europe an integrated political command, and permanent structured cooperation) is finally making concrete headway in the face of intensifying Russian threats and the contempt of the mercantilist Trump administration, whose support for the defence of Europe is becoming more unlikely every day.

The third priority is to give ourselves the means to combat disinformation and propaganda by defending our legislation and forcing it to be respected in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and information. The Twitter network, now X, is an emblematic example of what most of the major American operators in these fields would like to impose on us, as they shamelessly convert to the Trumpist dogmas of "Make America Great Again", abandoning all control over dangerous content on the networks, invoking freedom of expression, but forgetting about the censorship of thousands of web pages of administrations attacked by Trump's new ideology.

In short, AEPL calls on the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission to defend our values and our European way of life, before it is too late.

Taking into account the competences attributed at European level, do you consider that this work programme could be improved? Please let us know.

Eric Paradis

(paradispauleric@gmail.com)

Director, member of the editorial committee