Tempo di lettura ca.: 3 minuti, 29 secondi
Written by Ralf Drachenberg.
The EU’s priorities for the 5-year institutional cycle are outlined in the European Council’s Strategic Agenda. Subsequently, the European Commission sets its priorities in the president’s political guidelines, which are a first step in operationalising the EU priorities outlined in the Strategic Agenda. These priorities will then be translated into concrete initiatives included in the Commission’s annual work programmes, before being submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in the form of legislative (and non-legislative) proposals.
This briefing outlines the main policy priorities for the EU in the coming years, and analyses the differences in views of the European Council and the European Commission. With some exceptions, the European Council’s and the Commission’s policy priorities generally converge, as both documents, although organised differently, focus on three main priorities: democracy, security and competitiveness. When comparing them with the political priorities of the previous institutional cycle, it becomes evident that democracy and defence have gained in importance, while climate and energy are less salient than before. The analysis shows that the political guidelines pay significantly more attention to social issues than the Strategic Agenda. Conversely, the two policy clusters ‘external policies’ and ‘climate and energy’ receive more attention in the Strategic Agenda. However, external policy in general now feeds into all policy areas, intertwining with internal policies. While this is more explicit in the Strategic Agenda, the emphasis on Europe’s role in the word runs like a red thread through both documents, reflecting a major shift away from past political priorities.
The comparison identifies the topics that are missing from one or the other document, points out where different approaches are being taken on specific policy issues and where particular concepts have changed since the last institutional cycle. The briefing also outlines the specific initiatives mentioned in the political guidelines by policy cluster, notably those with a timeline.
The EU’s political priorities in two strategic documents
The EU’s priorities for the 5-year institutional cycle are a combination of the European Council’s Strategic Agenda, reflecting the views of Member States and the political balance within the institution, and the political guidelines drafted by the candidate for European Commission President, which take the results of the European Parliament elections, and the corresponding weight of the political families, into consideration. Both documents influence Council Presidency programmes, Commission annual work programmes, and legislative proposals put forward by the Commission – and, in turn, the legislative work of Parliament and the Council.
While both documents set out the political priorities for the EU, the nature of each differs. The Strategic Agenda sets strategic orientations for the EU at the macro level, without indicating specific initiatives or a specific timeline. Moreover, it needs to be adopted by all EU Heads of State or Government by unanimity, meaning the content cannot be too controversial and often leaves some room for interpretation. The political guidelines, while also mentioning the macro objectives, in addition indicate specific initiatives, some even with a concrete timeline. This difference in nature is also reflected in the documents’ respective length, whereby the Strategic Agenda is rather short and the political guidelines tend to be much longer.
Read the complete briefing on ‘Setting the European political priorities 2024-2029‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
[[{“value”:”
Written by Ralf Drachenberg.
The EU’s priorities for the 5-year institutional cycle are outlined in the European Council’s Strategic Agenda. Subsequently, the European Commission sets its priorities in the president’s political guidelines, which are a first step in operationalising the EU priorities outlined in the Strategic Agenda. These priorities will then be translated into concrete initiatives included in the Commission’s annual work programmes, before being submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in the form of legislative (and non-legislative) proposals.
This briefing outlines the main policy priorities for the EU in the coming years, and analyses the differences in views of the European Council and the European Commission. With some exceptions, the European Council’s and the Commission’s policy priorities generally converge, as both documents, although organised differently, focus on three main priorities: democracy, security and competitiveness. When comparing them with the political priorities of the previous institutional cycle, it becomes evident that democracy and defence have gained in importance, while climate and energy are less salient than before. The analysis shows that the political guidelines pay significantly more attention to social issues than the Strategic Agenda. Conversely, the two policy clusters ‘external policies’ and ‘climate and energy’ receive more attention in the Strategic Agenda. However, external policy in general now feeds into all policy areas, intertwining with internal policies. While this is more explicit in the Strategic Agenda, the emphasis on Europe’s role in the word runs like a red thread through both documents, reflecting a major shift away from past political priorities.
The comparison identifies the topics that are missing from one or the other document, points out where different approaches are being taken on specific policy issues and where particular concepts have changed since the last institutional cycle. The briefing also outlines the specific initiatives mentioned in the political guidelines by policy cluster, notably those with a timeline.
The EU’s political priorities in two strategic documents
The EU’s priorities for the 5-year institutional cycle are a combination of the European Council’s Strategic Agenda, reflecting the views of Member States and the political balance within the institution, and the political guidelines drafted by the candidate for European Commission President, which take the results of the European Parliament elections, and the corresponding weight of the political families, into consideration. Both documents influence Council Presidency programmes, Commission annual work programmes, and legislative proposals put forward by the Commission – and, in turn, the legislative work of Parliament and the Council.
While both documents set out the political priorities for the EU, the nature of each differs. The Strategic Agenda sets strategic orientations for the EU at the macro level, without indicating specific initiatives or a specific timeline. Moreover, it needs to be adopted by all EU Heads of State or Government by unanimity, meaning the content cannot be too controversial and often leaves some room for interpretation. The political guidelines, while also mentioning the macro objectives, in addition indicate specific initiatives, some even with a concrete timeline. This difference in nature is also reflected in the documents’ respective length, whereby the Strategic Agenda is rather short and the political guidelines tend to be much longer.
Read the complete briefing on ‘Setting the European political priorities 2024-2029‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
“}]]