Brussels, 25/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - In 2008, the European Commission will be focussing its efforts on delivering core policies for the globalisation agenda: detailing what it describes as 'key strategic priorities' for ensuring the EU is competitive. This is the overall objective the European Commission has set itself in its work programme for 2008, adopted on Tuesday 23 October. In parallel, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the Commission would be 'putting the citizens first'.
The Work Programme for 2008 aims to be a comprehensive approach to realise the ambition of a Europe addressing citizens' expectations for the future. It addresses many of the most pressing issues of today - growth and jobs, climate change, energy, migration, enlargement. The Work Programme was developed following detailed discussions with the other institutions, and picks up many of the themes recently discussed in the globalisation debate at the informal European Council in Lisbon.
As well as new initiatives, the Work Programme sets out how existing initiatives will be taken forward and where the Commission's responsibilities for implementing and overseeing agreed policies will be brought to bear. To better reflect the current multi-annual nature of most of the activities of the Commission, the Programme devotes a new section to areas where work in 2008 will involve impact assessments and consultations which may lead to specific initiatives in the future.
The proposals to be presented in 2008 illustrate many of the key features promoted by the Commission: they cover many cross-cutting themes, call for partnership with the Member States and other key actors, and look to tackle some of the longer-term issues facing Europe in the decades to come. They include a particular stress on better regulation, including a detailed list of simplification measures for the year ahead. The Programme also sets out the consequences in terms of communication, and includes areas foreseen as inter-institutional priorities for communication in 2008. The work programme for 2008 can be found at: http: //ec.europa.eu/atwork/programmes/index_en.htm (O.L.)