The European Commission plans to present 23 initiatives in 2027. Next year’s Work Programme, as revealed by Agence Europe, thus appears to mark a shift towards legislative restraint, given that the institution had, for example, planned no fewer than 38 initiatives for 2026. “Competitiveness” and “simplification” nevertheless remain the key concepts of the new programme. The two words appear 12 and seven times respectively in the Commission’s explanatory communication, which we...