Interpreting the European Commission's Priorities for the Year

Key Chapter Title List

1. Competitiveness
2. European Defence and Security
3. People and Society
4. Quality of Life
5. Values and Democracy
6. A Global Europe
7. Preparing the ITU for the Future

Document Introduction

In July 2024, the European Commission released its policy guidelines for the 2024-2029 legislative cycle, establishing seven key priorities. This agenda was introduced at a critical juncture marked by profound adjustments in the global geopolitical landscape and intensifying geo-economic interweaving. Against the backdrop of President von der Leyen securing a second term, these guidelines are seen as a core blueprint determining Europe's international standing for the next fifty years, responding to the multiple challenges brought about by major events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The core of the priorities revolves around enhancing competitiveness, directly confronting issues such as the weaponization of supply chains and imbalances in energy and raw material dependencies. It proposes deepening the single market, advancing the Clean Industrial Deal, strengthening resilience in the pharmaceutical and health sectors, and attracting massive investments through mechanisms like the Capital Markets Union. Simultaneously, it focuses on productivity bottlenecks caused by insufficient diffusion of digital technologies, continuing to promote digital legislation and technological innovation.

European defence and security have become a newly added key agenda, highlighting the strategic shift following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The agenda explicitly calls for establishing a European Defence Union led by the new Defence Commissioner, aiming to build a single market for defence products, enhance production capacity and joint procurement levels, while also strengthening cyber defence, counter-terrorism, and border management capabilities. It plans to increase the personnel of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency to 30,000.

Agendas related to people, society, and quality of life focus on public livelihood concerns. Addressing high living costs and inequality, they propose an agricultural and food vision that balances agricultural competitiveness with sustainability, introduce a water resilience strategy, and address youth rights, gender equality, and anti-racism issues. Regarding values and democracy, plans include establishing a European Democracy Shield to counter disinformation threats and strengthening the rule of law and citizen participation.

The 'Global Europe' agenda directly faces the reality of geo-strategic competition, proposing new foreign and economic diplomacy policies. It emphasizes cooperation with like-minded partners, deepening cooperation with regions such as the Indo-Pacific, Africa, and CELAC, while ensuring supply chain security through trade controls, investment screening, and other measures, and promoting multilateral system reform. Finally, the agenda also involves internal EU reforms aimed at enhancing inter-institutional collaboration.