Strength in unity: EU leaders to look ahead to common future at Sibiu summit - Main contents
They will exchange views on the challenges and priorities for the EU for the years to come. The current agenda was agreed in June 2014 by the European Council and was shaped into the 10 political priorities of the Juncker Commission. Five years on, efforts to deliver on those priorities have brought tangible results for citizens, despite unpredicted difficulties along the way, which continue to pose serious challenges for our Union. Building on the policy recommendations for how Europe can shape its future presented last week, the Commission is today looking back at what has been accomplished over the past five years.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “When I took office, I said it was our last chance to show Europeans that their Union works for them. I have spent the last five years working tirelessly to deliver on the promises we made. In some areas, I believe we have surpassed expectations, in others, we may have fallen short of them. But I believe we have always acted where it counts the most. Now the EU must look forward, learning from our experiences and building on its successes. We must be even more ambitious and focused than ever before.”
A strong track record
The Juncker Commission's 10 priorities focused on the things that matter most to Europeans: bringing back jobs, growth and investment, strengthening social fairness, managing migration, mitigating security threats, unlocking the potential of the digital and energy transitions, making the EU a stronger global actor, and reinforcing transparency and democratic legitimacy.
By summer 2018, the Juncker Commission had tabled all of the legislative proposals it committed to at the start of its mandate. In total, the Commission made 471 new legislative proposals and carried over an additional 44 presented by previous Commissions. Of these, 348 proposals have been adopted or agreed by the European Parliament and the Council during the current mandate.
The Commission has today published a series of 20 factsheets demonstrating how the EU managed to deliver on the commitments taken in 2014 in the European Council's strategic agenda and in the Juncker Commission's 10 political priorities.
Looking forward
Last week, the European Commission set out a number of policy recommendations for how Europe can shape its future in an increasingly multipolar and uncertain world. The Commission recommended that the EU's strategic agenda for 2019-2024 focus on 5 key dimensions:
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-a protective Europe because peace is power in today's world;
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-a competitive Europe that invests in the technologies of tomorrow and supports our greatest assets: the single market, our industry and our common currency;
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-a fair Europe that upholds our fundamental principles of equality, the rule of law and social justice in the modern world;
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-a sustainable Europe that takes the lead on sustainable development and in fighting climate change;
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-and an influential Europe that seeks touphold and update the rules-based systemthat has served us so well for so long.
EU27 leaders meeting in Sibiu can now draw on this to set new policy orientation and new priorities for the EU ahead of the European Parliament elections on 23-26 May 2019 and the change of political leadership of the EU institutions that will follow.
President Juncker will represent the European Commission at the informal meeting of EU27 Heads of State or Government in Sibiu on 9 May 2019. Preceding this, he will participate in a citizens' dialogue alongside Romanian President Iohannis at 18:00 CET on 8 May 2019.
Commissioners Thyssen and Navracsics will also be in Sibiu, Romania to open the Youth Event ‘Let's shape the future of Europe together' and attend the Award Ceremony of the #MySocialEurope photo competition. Commissioner Navracsics will also hand over awards to the monthly winners of the photo contest ‘My magical European Solidarity Corps moment'.
Background
Five years ago, the European Council defined a broad strategic agenda for the Union in times of change. This took further shape in the form of President Jean-Claude Juncker's 10 political priorities, developed during his electoral campaign and in dialogue with Member States and the European Parliament. The Juncker Commission has since shown a strong track record of delivering on its strategic agenda.
The EU now needs new, ambitious, realistic and focused goals for the next political cycle.
In March 2017, ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the Commission published its White Paper on the Future of Europe. It outlined five possible scenarios for the EU's future at 27. This was the starting point for a wide-ranging debate on the future of Europe, which now can inspire the main policy priorities of the next strategic agenda. Having engaged with citizens in nearly 1,600 citizens' dialogues and citizens' consultations.
In his 2017 State of the Union address, President Juncker unveiled a roadmap detailing the main steps towards a more united, stronger and more democratic Union. Building on this, national leaders met in Tallinn, Estonia, and agreed on a Leaders' Agenda - a list of the most pressing issues and challenges for which solutions should be found, ahead of the European elections in 2019.
On 9 May 2019, EU leaders will meet in Sibiu, Romania, and are expected to mark the culmination of this process with a renewed commitment to an EU that delivers on the issues that really matter to people. They will reflect on our Union's political aspirations and prepare the strategic agenda for the next five years.
For More Information
Factsheets on the Commission's 10 priorities:
Commission contribution to the 2019-2024 strategic agenda
Media advisory on the Sibiu summit
IP/19/2392
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