Between 2014 and 2019, the vast majority of the legislative texts proposed by the Juncker Commission successfully completed the European legislative process. Overview of the texts that have marked the news.
Migration. The successive strengthening of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (ex-Frontex) is a success of European migration policy. The Agency has undergone two reforms in three years, the first in 2016 (see EUROPE 11588/1) and the second in 2018 (see EUROPE 12238/10).
The first reform created a permanent reserve of 1500 staff who could be mobilised quickly in the event of a crisis and a right for the agency to intervene at critical points on the EU's external border, ultimately subject to the agreement of the country concerned.
The second reform should provide the agency with a contingent of 10,000 staff by 2027, give it more expertise on the return of illegal migrants and empower it to conduct joint operations with North African countries.
Terrorism. In response to the attacks that shook several Member States in 2015 and 2016, the succession of initiatives to strengthen the fight against terrorism struck people's minds and raised awareness of the issue of the protection of personal data and individual freedoms.
Over the past five years, the co-legislators have adopted a multitude of acts, such as the entry/exit system for non-Member State travellers (see EUROPE 11891/15), the strengthening of files such as ECRIS-TCN, the opening of certain migration databases such as EURODAC to police forces, the creation of a third-country traveller authorisation system (ETIAS), the reform of the Schengen Information System with new alerts created, the strengthening of Europol and the implementation of the interoperability of information systems.
A directive on the fight against terrorism has been adopted to criminalise, in particular, the preparation of terrorist acts and to better define terrorist crime. A regulation is also being adopted on the removal of terrorist content, with the European Parliament having recently adopted its first reading (see EUROPE B12238 A11).
PNR. But the most emblematic issue is the directive on the "European PNR", which the European Parliament fought hard against before approving a legislative text that remains highly controversial (see EUROPE 11532/2).
On this issue, under the impetus of France, the Council of the EU exerted very strong pressure at the end of 2015 for MEPs to approve the project on the collection of air passenger data, which had already been rejected in 2013.
While the directive was due to be transposed in May 2018, eight Member States are still missing. Initial malfunctions are suspected in some countries, such as Germany, where too much data would be collected.
European Public Prosecutor's Office. Apart from the deadlock on the appointment of its head (see EUROPE 12232/11), the creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office is one of the great European successes in the field of justice (see EUROPE 118882/3).
This new body, which will be operational from 2020, will be responsible for combating fraud involving European funds and VAT in its cross-border dimensions. The Commission wants its mandate to be extended to the fight against cross-border terrorism by 2025 (see EUROPE 12094/7).
In the absence of unanimous agreement in the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 11720/4), Member States have favoured enhanced cooperation. In 2017, twenty Member States decided to take part (see EUROPE 11804/2). There are now twenty-two of them, Malta and the Netherlands having joined them, and soon twenty-three with the expected arrival of Sweden (see EUROPE 12228/2).
Data protection. Another undeniable step forward is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will celebrate its first anniversary on 25 May next (see EUROPE 12260/14).
Introduced in 2012, the text, which contains several innovations such as the consumer's "unambiguous" consent to the use of their data, replaces a 1995 directive. It was agreed between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in 2015 (see EUROPE 11455/7).
The GDPR is widely seen as an international model, according to the European Commission, which hopes one day to achieve a "global coalition" on data protection (see EUROPE 12235/3).
Whistleblowers. After the adoption of the highly controversial Trade Secrets Directive (see EUROPE 11454/8), the European Parliament asked the Commission to submit a directive to protect whistleblowers reporting a breach of EU law.
This initially favoured a cross-sectoral approach, but required a three-step alert (internal to the organisation, external to a competent authority and to the public) for the European launcher to be covered by the Directive (see EUROPE 12004/14).
After a fierce battle with the Council of the EU, in particular against France, the European Parliament won its case to reduce the sequence of a two-step alert (internal or external, then to the media) (see EUROPE 12212/11).
Capital Markets Union. The Capital Markets Union (CMU) is also often cited as among the major achievements of legislature. The project, launched in 2015 (see EUROPE 11399/2), aims to redirect available capital in the EU towards financing European companies (see EUROPE 11256/1).
Out of thirteen legislative proposals submitted, eleven have been the subject of an interinstitutional agreement (see EUROPE 12215/21). These include the thorny reform of the European financial supervision architecture (see EUROPE 12219/6) and the proposals on sustainable finance (see EUROPE 11977/2).
If the exit from the United Kingdom materialises, the departure of the leading European financial centre will reinforce the need to move forward in the CMU after 2019.
Taxation. Created at the end of 2017 (see EUROPE 11919/1), is the European 'blacklist' of jurisdictions outside the EU that are not cooperative in terms of taxation a failure or a success for the EU?
It must be noted that this list puts real pressure on non-Member States to reform their harmful tax practices. For the Commission and the Council of the EU, it is a real success and has had a significant impact on tax transparency and fairness around the world. "60 countries in the world have changed their tax legislation", said Taxation Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who nevertheless regrets the absence of European sanctions (see EUROPE 12212/5).
But some criticise its weak practical effects and increasing politicisation. For Oxfam, the political stakes around the 'blacklist' weaken its effectiveness, with some non-Member States - the United States and Switzerland - being "too powerful to list" (see EUROPE 12209/13). And, in her view, Member States such as Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands should be included.
In the eyes of the Tax Justice Network, the list fails to detect 99% of the services facilitating the opacity of illicit financial flows within the EU (see EUROPE 12102/14).
Accountancy Europe recognises the deterrent effect of the 'blacklist', but advocates a coherent EU approach to it.
Environment. Haro on disposable plastic products that pollute the oceans. The directive that will drastically limit the use of single-use plastic products in the EU that pollute the oceans while stimulating the circular economy is the ultimate success of this legislature.
Proposed in May 2018, European legislation was adopted in record time in May 2019 and makes the EU the only region in the world with such legislation, in the interests of the planet, sustainable development and the European economy. By 2021, it will ban the ten products most often found on beaches and for which less polluting alternatives exist, and will stimulate the transition to the circular economy through ambitious collection and recycling targets. It will also involve producers in beach clean-up, in accordance with the 'polluter pays' principle (see EUROPE 12259/24, 12028/8).
Food chain. A number of initiatives have been taken by the Juncker Commission to strengthen the role and missions of producer organisations (POs), to promote the contractualisation of trade relations and to combat unfair trade practices.
First, there was the adoption of the "milk package" (and the management of the severe crisis in this sector) and Regulation 261/2012 authorising POs to engage in collective bargaining, including price negotiations, for member producers.
In November 2016, the High Level Expert Group on Agricultural Markets made recommendations to promote market transparency and strengthen the bargaining power of producers. During the mid-term reform of the CAP, the 'omnibus' regulation, which entered into force at the beginning of 2018, extends to all production sectors the possibility of collectively negotiating transfer contracts, including those concerning price.
The work was complemented by the adoption of the Directive prohibiting certain unfair commercial practices (see EUROPE 12232/16). To complete the work, the Commission presented on Wednesday 22 May an initiative to increase price transparency in the supply chain (see EUROPE 12260/17).
In addition, the three institutions have yet to agree by the end of 2019 on the elements of the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Energy. Presented in November 2016, the energy package was adopted as a whole, starting with the new rules on the energy performance of buildings.
The agreements were then finalised on: - the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive setting a binding target of 32% renewable energy by 2030 in the EU, capping first-generation biofuels at 2020 levels and eliminating biofuels from food crops (palm oil) by 2030 through a certification process; - the revision of the Directive setting a target of 32.5% energy efficiency by 2030; - the revision of the Regulation on Energy Governance. By the end of 2019, each Member State will have to submit an integrated national energy/climate plan and a second by January 2029.
On Wednesday 22 May, the Council of the EU definitively adopted the final texts of the clean energy package: - a regulation and a directive that will make the EU electricity market more interconnected, flexible and consumer-oriented; - the regulation ensuring security of electricity supply in times of crisis; - a review of the role and functioning of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) (see EUROPE 12258/11).
Finally, in mid-April, the Council of the EU adopted the new gas directive. The rules governing the internal gas market in the EU should apply to gas transmission lines between a Member State and a non-Member State, up to the limit of the Member State's territory and territorial waters (see EUROPE 12193/16).
Industry. In the field of the internal market, the Regulation on homologation and market surveillance of motor vehicles was adopted in response to the Dieselgate scandal (see EUROPE 11574/1).
After two years of negotiations, the co-legislators sealed a rather ambitious agreement giving the Commission an important role in imposing administrative fines (see EUROPE 11921/2).
Internal Market. Other key texts have been adopted for the proper functioning of the internal market: - the Directive on proportionality tests for regulated professions, which aims to remove obstacles to the mobility of professionals within the internal market (see EUROPE 11986/17); - the Regulation establishing a single digital portal, which makes it possible to standardise administrative procedures for European citizens and companies (see EUROPE 12026/15); - the Regulation on internal market surveillance (see EUROPE 12189/11).
Other emblematic texts include the highly controversial 'Firearms' Directive (see EUROPE 11689/29).
Digital. The European Commission has generally achieved the objective of forcibly deepening the digital single market. Out of 30 proposals drawn up, 28 have been the subject of an interinstitutional agreement during this legislature, says Vice-President Andrus Ansip.
These include copyright reform (Directive 2019/790) (see EUROPE 12222/6) or audiovisual media services (Directive 2018/1808) (see EUROPE 12011/6).
Social. Many flagship texts have been adopted in the social field, particularly since 2017 with the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (see EUROPE 11907/1). The most emblematic are: the Posting of Workers Directive (see EUROPE 11972/2), the Working Conditions Directive (see EUROPE 12189/4), the revisions to the Mutagenic and Carcinogenic Agents Directive (see EUROPE 12182/27) and the creation of a new European Labour Authority (see EUROPE 12194/1). The latter agency will play a key role in the future to better control mobile workers.
Civil defence. The EU is now able to respond more effectively to disasters.
In a period of increasing extreme weather events and major natural disasters in the EU and non-Member States, the strengthening of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for a faster and more effective European response is a success of European solidarity that responds concretely to citizens' expectations.
Convincing the Member States, jealous of their national prerogatives, to accept the creation of RescEU - a European reserve of capacities - was not an easy task for the Commission. And yet, an interinstitutional agreement was reached quickly and an initial fleet of air assets is already operational, on a transitional basis, to fight forest fires this summer (see EUROPE 12259/5, 12193/3).
Foreign trade. Many free trade agreements have been signed over the past five years.
The most emblematic of these agreements are, without doubt, the agreement with Canada (CETA), which entered into force provisionally in September 2017 (see EUROPE 11866/16), and the EU/Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, which has been in force since February (see EUROPE 12184/3).
The inclusion of a new investor-State arbitration system under the acronym "ICS" was also the result of pressure from MEPs on the Commission.
During this parliamentary term, the European Trade Defence Mechanism has also been thoroughly revised and modernised. Since June 2018, a compromise on EU trade defence instruments has included social and environmental standards as prior considerations and allows, where appropriate, higher tariffs to be imposed to better protect EU producers against unfair competition (see EUROPE 12002/7).
A new anti-dumping calculation method was also approved at the end of 2017 (see EUROPE 11931/7). And a regulation on a European filtering framework for foreign direct investments was adopted at the beginning of 2019 (see EUROPE 12233/16) (editorial staff)