The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and Petr Fiala, the Czech Prime Minister who presides over the Council of the European Union, signed the EU’s legislative priorities for 2023 and 2024 on Thursday 15 December.
The right of legislative initiative is the prerogative of the European Commission. However, since 2016 the Commission has sought to include the two co-legislators in an interinstitutional dialogue to improve cooperation, whereby the three institutions agree to give priority treatment to several initiatives in the European legislative process.
Such a document follows the adoption by the European Commission of its work programme on 18 October 2022, which has as its political basis the Commission President’s State of the Union Address of 14 September.
The joint declaration for 2023 and 2024 was signed against the backdrop of the end of the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, the consequences of Russian military aggression against Ukraine, an economic situation marked by inflation fuelled by rising energy prices and a slowdown in growth.
Furthermore, the declaration follows the proposals made by civil society in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
The three institutions are committed to work primarily around six main objectives: - the implementation of the European Green Deal (including energy transition and independence from Russian supplies); - the digital transition and the strengthening of European resilience, notably in the field of industry and research and innovation; - the pursuit of the goal of an economy ‘that works for people’, with the strengthening of social rights; - support for SMEs; - an update of economic governance; - the strengthening of the capital market, the banking union and the digital euro.
The institutions want to strengthen the EU’s position on the international stage by supporting Ukraine and committing to multilateralism and the Rule of law, promoting the “European way of life” through the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’, recognising the qualifications of third countries, fighting cancer and promoting mental health, and protecting and strengthening democracy and ‘European values’.
Other commitments, such as the implementation of national recovery plans and the UN 2030 agenda, are also mentioned.
The declaration is accompanied by a working document which refers to the 164 legislative proposals identified as priorities.
It comes in addition to a longer-term document: the joint conclusions on the strategic objectives and priorities for 2020-2024, signed by the three institutions in 2020.
More info: https://aeur.eu/f/4pw ; https://aeur.eu/f/4px (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)