The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has circulated to Europe’s Heads of State or Government a detailed draft strategic agenda for the European Union up to 2030. Drawn up on the basis of informal discussions initiated by the Granada summit in October 2023, this text will be further refined, in particular at informal dinners between European leaders, in order to put forward the most concrete measures possible by the European Council at the end of June.
This draft, a copy of which has been sent to Agence Europe, builds on the three areas already identified by Mr Michel (see EUROPE 13382/13): - a strong and secure Europe; - a prosperous and competitive Europe; - a free and democratic Europe.
In the area of external action, EU leaders could advocate pulling all the levers of European policies to defend the EU’s interests and values. In the area of security and defence, all the necessary instruments should be mobilised to strengthen the EU’s capacity to act, in particular by increasing spending and investment.
Over the next five years, the EU will have to create incentives to engage in the enlargement process, with new instruments and by encouraging regional integration. At the same time, it will have to undertake the necessary internal reforms.
Economic competitiveness in order to succeed in the climate and digital transitions will be another key focus of the draft legislative cycle. The focus will be on deepening the single market (see EUROPE 13387/1), particularly in services, increasing financial integration, supporting innovation, reducing strategic dependencies, reducing the administrative burden, not forgetting upward social convergence through education and vocational training.
There is no mention of the advisability of deploying new financial instruments at European level, such as joint debt and/or specific funds, which are currently being discussed by the EU27.
Third area: defending the fundamental values at the heart of the European project. According to the draft strategic agenda, the EU27 will stress the importance of respecting the Rule of law, combating disinformation and promoting human rights at international level.
See the European Council’s draft strategic agenda: https://aeur.eu/f/bpk (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Camille-Cerise Gessant)