Remarks by Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič at the College Read-Out: Commission Work Programme for 2020

Source: European Commission (EC) i, published on Wednesday, January 29 2020.

Good morning,

It is a pleasure to be with you today for my first read-out with this new Commission and this new mandate. Let me start with an overview of the points we have just discussed at the College meeting,which concluded its session just a few minutes ago.

We discussed the Communication on Secure 5G deployment in the EU, and my colleagues Margrethe Vestager and Thierry Breton will present this to you later on.

Then, President von der Leyen and Michel Barnier, the Commission's Chief Negotiator, presented to the College the draft negotiating directives in view of the forthcoming negotiation of a new partnership with the United Kingdom. The College discussed the draft directives, but they will only be adopted next Monday, 3 February, once the UK has left the European Union.

High Representative/Vice-President Borrell also did his weekly debrief to the College about the latest international developments and the EU's role and activities in this regard.

  • First, on the ongoing efforts to contribute to reaching a ceasefire and monitoring the arms embargo in Libya;
  • then, with regard to the peace process in the Middle East. Note that a Declaration by the High Representative/Vice-President on behalf of the EU28 was issued last night;
  • then, we have been debriefed by Commissioners Kyriakides and Lenarčič on the state of play of the outbreak of the Coronavirus. As you already know, President von der Leyen was in phone contact with the Chinese Prime Minister, offering the assistance of the EU to China and discussing the possible repatriation of the EU citizens from China. More details will be provided by my colleagues, Commissioners Kyriakides and Lenarčič,who will come to this press room around 2pm to brief you on the latest information.

And let me then come to what I am here to present to you today, the Commission Work Programme for 2020.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have just adopted the first Commission Work Programme under the mandate of President Ursula von der Leyen. Let me begin by saying that it is a true testament to our commitment to build “a Union that strives for more”.

This Work Programme tells you the story of what we want to achieve this first year. At the same time, it shows you the direction we want to take for the next five years and beyond.

We strive for more under all six headline ambitions set out in the President's Political Guidelines. And it is especially true for the biggest challenge of our generation - the twin ecological and digital transition, which will affect every part of our society and every one of us.

Let me demonstrate through our key figures.

This year, we plan to table 93 major initiatives grouped under 43 policy objectives or packages. In all cases, these are defining initiatives for this entire decade and in some cases, for the first half of this century.

Just look at:

  • Our Green Deal Communication with the first European Climate law on 2050 climate neutrality at its heart;
  • Our upcoming White Paper on Artificial Intelligence;
  • Our new 21st century Industrial Policy;
  • A holistic Security Union Strategy;
  • Or a European Democracy Action Plan.

Out of the 93 major initiatives, 28 will be legislative. This sends a strong signal to both, the Parliament and the Council that we want to allow sufficient time for their adoption and implementation.

We also examined all proposals that are currently awaiting decision by the Parliament and the Council, and we are proposing to withdraw or repeal 34 of them.

Some of them do not match the new Commission's political ambition. For others, we will reflect on more efficient ways to fulfil their objectives, in consultation with the Parliament and the Council.

One more number. Under the regulatory fitness and performance programme REFIT, we identified 44 significant pieces of legislation proposed for evaluation. This shows how serious we are about simplification and reducing administrative burdens on businesses and citizens, while boosting the impact on the ground.

We will strengthen this philosophy by introducing the one-in, one-out approach. We would make sure that, if there would be a new administrative burden resulting from our proposals, they would be offset by removing an equivalent existing burden in the same policy area. We will pay particular attention to digitization and input from regions in doing so. I will table a better a communications regulation in April.

Ladies and gentlemen, as Europe enters the new decade, marked by tectonic shifts in many areas, two compasses will guide our work across all sectors.

First, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that we also will integrate in the European Semester.

And second, we will make a prominent use of strategic foresight by embedding it across all Commission policies.

I want Europe to stand on the global medal podium in 2030 and in 2050. Therefore, we will keep a sharp eye on the long-term trends and major shifts on the horizon, so we can design policies that will help Europe get ahead of the curve.

To this end, we have already established a Strategic Foresight Network within the European Commission because we need to strive for more - meaning for world-class anticipatory governance.

To conclude, let me underline that bringing all our ambitions to life will require a team effort between all institutions, Member States and key partners. Therefore, I appreciate the excellent cooperation with the Parliament and the Council in preparing this Commission Work Programme, because it also reflects their main priorities.

Now, we will start preparing the Joint Declaration on the Legislative Priorities that will be signed by President von der Leyen, President Sassoli and the Croatian Presidency. This will be followed by our first-ever Multiannual Programming that should capture our common strategic agenda for Europe and will link with our first annual foresight report in May of this year.

Thank you very much.