Political Guidelines 2024-29
STRATEGY2024-07-18
- They will work with a Vice-President for Implementation, Simplification and Interinstitutional Relations to stress-test the entire EU acquis. On this basis, we will make proposals to simplify, consolidate and codify legislation to eliminate any overlaps and contradictions while maintaining high standards.
- To support this, I will propose a new EU-wide legal status to help innovative companies grow. This will take the form of a so-called 28th regime to allow companies to benefit from a simpler, harmonised set of rules in certain areas.
- We will introduce a new category of small midcaps and assess where existing regulation applying to large companies is too burdensome, disproportionate or a hindrance to their competitive development.
- In this spirit I will propose to renew Interinstitutional agreement on simplification and better law making that each institution assesses the impact and cost of its amendments in the same way.
- We will put forward an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act to support industries and companies through the transition.
- We will continue to bring down energy prices by moving further away from fossil fuels, reinforcing joint procurement for fuels, and developing the governance needed for a true Energy Union. We will scale-up and prioritise investment in clean energy infrastructure and technologies.
- We will work on new Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships to help secure supply of raw materials, clean energy and clean tech from across the world.
- To this end we will propose a Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation, to ensure that Europeans can buy one single ticket on one single platform and get passengers’ rights for their whole trip.
- This will be the purpose of a new Circular Economy Act, helping to create market demand for secondary materials and a single market for waste, notably in relation to critical raw materials.
- We must also do more to protect the security of our health systems, which are increasingly the target of cyber and ransomware attacks. To improve threat detection, preparedness and crisis response, I will propose a European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers in the first 100 days of the mandate.
- We must now focus our efforts on becoming a global leader in AI innovation. In the first 100 days, we will ensure access to new, tailored supercomputing capacity for AI start-ups and industry through an AI Factories initiative. We will also develop with Member States, industry and civil society an Apply AI Strategy to boost new industrial uses of AI and to improve the delivery of a variety of public services, such as healthcare. In this spirit, I will propose to set up a European AI Research Council where we can pool all of our resources, similar to the approach taken with CERN.
- This is why we will put forward a Europea Data Union Strategy. This will draw on existing data rules to ensure a simplified, clear and coherent legal framework for businesses and administrations to share data seamlessly and at scale, while respecting high privacy and security standards.
- To do this, we will expand the European Research Council and the European Innovation Council.
- In order to make it easier to bring biotech from the laboratory to factory and then onto the market we will propose a new European Biotech Act in 2025. This will be part of a broader Strategy for European Life Sciences to look at how we can support our green and digital transitions and develop high-value technologies.
- I will propose a revision of the Public Procurement Directive. This will enable preference to be given to European products in public procurement for certain strategic sectors. It will help ensure EU added value for our citizens, along with security of supply for vital technologies, products and services. It will also modernise and simplify our public procurement rules, in particular with EU start-ups and innovators in mind.
- This is why I will put forward a new European Competitiveness Fund as part of our proposal for a new and reinforced budget in the next multiannual financial framework. This investment capacity will invest in strategic technologies – from AI to space, clean tech to biotech
- to ensure that we develop strategic technologies and manufacture them here in Europe. And it will ensure that we use the power of our budget to leverage and de-risk private investment in our common goals. The European Competitiveness Fund will support Important Projects of Common Interest (IPCEIs) so that Europe can use its collective strength to invest together in ambitious common projects – as has already been done on a smaller scale with batteries, hydrogen and microelectronics. I will make IPCEIs simpler and faster to get financed and off the ground. The first new set of common projects will be proposed in early 2025.
- To do so, we will establish a Union of Skills – focusing on investment, adult and lifelong learning, skill retention and the recognition of different types of training to enable people to work across our Union. Central to this will be embedding lifelong learning into education and careers and supporting the training and the career prospects of teachers. We will focus on improving basic skills and propose a STEM Education Strategic Plan. This will aim to address the worrying decline in performance and the lack of qualified teachers in areas linked to science, technology, engineering and maths. It should also bring more girls and women into STEM education and careers. It is also important to give vocational education and training (VET) the prominence it deserves. It prepares people for work and gives them the skills that companies are looking for. This is why I will propose a European Strategy for Vocational Education and Training, notably to boost the number of people with a secondary VET degree.
- We need to make sure that we benefit from all high-quality skills irrespective of where and how they were acquired. This is why we will continue to work towards a European Degree and will put forward a Skills Portability Initiative to ensure a skill acquired in one country is recognised in another.
- We will make the EU the most advanced travel destination in the world, with a fully functional European digital border management.
- This is why I will propose a new European Democracy Shield. As part of this, we will work to counter foreign information manipulation and interference online, building on the examples of Viginum in France or the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency. The aim is to increase situational awareness, by detecting, analysing and proactively countering disinformation and information manipulation. We will focus on societal resilience and preparedness, through increased digital and media literacy and boosting prevention through pre-bunking. We will create a European network of fact-checkers and make it available in all languages. We will also continue to step up digital enforcement to ensure that manipulated or misleading information is detected, flagged and, where appropriate, removed in line with the Digital Services Act. Finally, we will also address the ever-more realistic deepfakes that have impacted elections across Europe. We will ensure that transparency requirements in the AI Act are implemented and that we strengthen our approach to AI-produced content. In protecting our democracy, we will always respect our enduring commitment to preserving and promoting free speech.
- This is why I will put forward a Quality Jobs Roadmap, developed together with the social partners. It will support fair wages, good working conditions, training and fair job transitions for workers and self-employed people, notably by increasing collective bargaining coverage.
- We will tackle unethical techniques used by online platforms by taking action on the addictive design of online services, such as infinite scroll, default auto play or constant push. We will also firmly combat the growing trend of abusive behaviour online with an action plan against cyberbullying.
- At the same time, we must be more assertive in protecting our economy from key technology leakage and security concerns. This issue is particularly acute when dealing with those who are also strategic competitors and systemic rivals. This will be based on a clear-eyed risk assessment and our principle of ‘de-risking not decoupling’. The third strand of our economic foreign policy is partnerships and investing together in our interests and our partners through Global Gateway, our initiative to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide. We will take Global Gateway to the next level by proposing an integrated offer to our partners – with infrastructure investment, trade, macro-economic support part of the package.
- I believe we need an ambitious reform agenda to ensure the proper functioning of a larger Union, to ensure we are equipped to tackle our geopolitical challenges and to improve democratic legitimacy, notably through citizens’ participation. This includes continuing to follow up on the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe. I believe we need Treaty change where it can improve our Union.
Action items (12)
European Biotech Act
Planned for Q3 2026.As a cornerstone of the EU’s Life Sciences Strategy, the law will make Europe the most attractive place for biotech by 2030 by speeding approvals and risk assessments without compromising safety, unlocking risk-tolerant finance and biomanufacturing scale, building EU-wide clusters/infrastructure, closing skills gaps, and enabling trusted AI/data use (incl. supercomputing and EHDS links). It tackles single-market fragmentation across health, agri-food, industrial and marine biotech, strengthening competitiveness and economic security. Expected impacts of the law includes faster time-to-market, deeper investment pipelines, resilient supply chains and environmental benefits, supported by strong EU governance.
EU Critical Communication System (EUCCS)
Planned for Q3 2026.The Commission will propose legislation to interconnect Member States’ next-generation critical communications used by police, civil protection, emergency medical, border and security authorities. EUCCS will set harmonised requirements for operational mobility, strong resilience and strategic autonomy, enabling secure cross-border voice/data, priority services and roaming, including satellite back-up via IRIS². It will modernise national systems, ensure interoperability and encrypted communications, and support crisis coordination from terrorism to large-scale disasters. Governance will link with the Preparedness Union’s all-hazards approach and ERCC, with EU-funded pilots building capabilities using European providers.
Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act
Planned for 25 November 2025.This Act will accelerate industrial decarbonisation by clearing permitting bottlenecks, strengthening clean-product demand and de-risking investment. It streamlines access to energy and infrastructure (i.e. building on NZIA, TEN-E and the emergency permitting toolbox) through acceleration areas, one-stop shops and, where allowed, tacit approvals, while maintaining environmental safeguards. It introduces resilience and sustainability criteria (clean, circular, cybersecure) across EU/national programmes and procurement, and pilots a simple carbon-intensity label—starting with steel in 2025, followed by cement—to unlock targeted incentives and enable international alignment. Coupled with the Clean Industrial Deal and related affordability measures, it aims to lower costs, shorten lead times and scale EU clean manufacturing, with a legislative proposal.
European Data Union Strategy
Planned for 19 November 2025.The strategy will establish a simpler, coherent EU framework for secure, large-scale data sharing between businesses and public administrations to power AI. It will align and streamline existing rules and practices, strengthen cross-border interoperability, and embed robust safeguards for confidentiality, integrity, security and IP. Concretely, it will: promote common technical and semantic standards (e.g. schemas, metadata, APIs); enable trusted data intermediaries and data-pooling mechanisms; expand access via privacy-preserving methods (e.g. anonymisation, synthetic data, secure processing); and clarify fair, transparent licensing for B2B and public-private data use. Closely linked to AI Factories, new Data Labs will federate sectoral datasets and connect to Common European Data Spaces to unlock high-quality training data at scale.
New IPCEIs
New IPCEIs will reinforce Europe’s strategic capabilities in AI and computing through two coordinated projects: one advancing beyond-state-of-the-art research and first industrial deployment of federated, distributed AI services; the other building large-scale computing infrastructure and services. These initiatives complement national efforts, use public-private partnerships, and fast-track innovation and deployment across the digital stack. To speed delivery, the Commission will establish a support hub to accelerate design and launch, and work with the EIB to create a one-stop shop for grant preparation and financial structuring. The approach will also back IPCEIs in circular advanced materials for clean technologies and strengthen decarbonisation.
European Strategy for Vocational Education and Training (VET)
Planned for 2026.The Strategy upgrades VET into a first-choice pathway for competitiveness, cohesion and generational renewal. It tackles skills shortages by modernising curricula with employers, expanding work-based learning, and boosting mobility and internationalisation (via Erasmus+ and a pilot European VET diploma/label in 2025–26). It raises excellence and inclusiveness, combats gender stereotypes, and sets a 2030 STEM target: at least 45% of initial medium-level VET enrolment, with one in four women. Centres of Vocational Excellence will scale transnational partnerships and drive national reforms, while recognition frameworks ease cross-border learning and careers, making VET as valued as higher education across the Union.
STEM Education Strategic Plan
The EU will reverse declining STEM performance and close talent gaps by 2030 through enrolment targets (45% of initial VET in STEM, 32% tertiary, and 5% ICT PhDs) with gender goals (≥25% women in VET, 40% tertiary, 33% ICT PhDs). It will modernise curricula via a STEM competence framework, pilot STEM education centres, and launch Advanced Digital Skills Competitions. Universities and Centres of Vocational Excellence will offer joint programmes and micro-credentials aligned with industry, moving toward a European degree for engineers. A Teachers & Trainers Agenda and actions under the Union of Skills will boost capacity and attractiveness.
28th Regime
Planned for Q1 2026.It will create an optional, EU-wide corporate framework—digital by default—to let innovative firms set up, operate, and raise capital seamlessly across borders. The proposal may rely on TFEU Article 352 or a harmonised national form via Articles 50/114, with a progressive, modular design. It targets 48-hour incorporation and “once-only” data sharing via BRIS, EUID, and an EU Company Certificate, leveraging the European Business Wallet. Investment-friendly options under consideration include simpler capital increases, flexible share classes, and standard private-equity terms. Complementing the European Innovation Act, it cuts failure costs, fragmentation, and compliance burdens.
Public Procurement Reform
Planned for Q2 2026.The Commission will overhaul the EU procurement framework to make public spending a strategic lever for competitiveness, security and innovation. The revision will enable sustainability, resilience and European-preference criteria in strategic sectors, while staying consistent with EU and international commitments. It will simplify and digitise procedures, embed once-only data reuse, curb overspecification, and promote innovation-friendly tools (e.g. outcome-based/R&D purchases, clearer IP clauses). Rules will be consolidated across legislation to ease use by all administrations and open tenders to startups and SMEs. Defence and security procurement will be modernised and cross-border aggregation strengthened to create lead markets and scale.
Digitalisation of the Return Process
Planned for Q3 2026.The Commission will table a dedicated initiative to digitalise Member States’ return case management, as part of a new common approach on returns. COM(2025) 101 sets a common return system and, in Art. 42(1)(d), makes national digital systems for return/readmission/reintegration a core component; a separate act will specify interoperability, once-only data flows and statistics. The Commission’s Political Guidelines commit to digitalising case management; von der Leyen’s 17 March letter signalled presentation by end-2025. A 2026 consultation under the Work Programme will prepare governance and implementation, aligning with SIS/Eurodac and digital-by-default delivery while ensuring uniform practice across the Union.
Strategic EU-India Agenda
Europe have tabled a Strategic EU–India Agenda that elevates the partnership across five pillars: prosperity, technology, security, connectivity and enablers. It prioritises concluding an FTA and an Investment Protection Agreement, alongside Global Gateway investments and supply-chain de-risking via the EU–India TTC (chips, solar, APIs). It deepens digital cooperation (e.g. trusted data flows, secure 5G/6G and interoperable digital public infrastructures) and expands joint R&I in AI, HPC/quantum and space. A Security and Defence Partnership with a Security of Information Agreement will underpin maritime, cyber and hybrid resilience. Delivery will be steered by an annual summit, upgraded TTC, and an EU–India Business Forum.
EU Treaty Change
Announced on 18 July 2024.To equip a larger, more contested Union, the Commission will pursue institutional reforms, up to targeted Treaty changes where they clearly improve capacity to act and democratic accountability. It couples faster, simpler law-making with rigorous implementation: stress-testing the acquis, reducing administrative burdens, and renewing an interinstitutional pact on better lawmaking. Each Commissioner will hold biannual implementation dialogues and publish annual progress reports, while enforcement against Single Market fragmentation is stepped up. The objective is a Union that legislates less and delivers more so Europe can decide and act at the speed today’s challenges demand.