European Union policies & priorities 2008

The argument over the EU’s reform treaty is over – at least between its political leaders. Now the spotlight moves away from institutions and back towards the policies, outputs and ‘deliverables’ on which the EU’s legitimacy depends.

The agenda for 2008 is a packed one. The Slovenian Presidency beginning on 1 January, and then the French Presidency from 1 July, have a pressing set of challenges to address – challenges which know no borders.

Can the EU deliver on its targets for tackling climate change? How is it to strengthen its energy security? Can it manage migration to its own advantage? Will it keep faith with the developing world and its membership hopefuls?

And – crucially – does it have the political will to see through vital economic reforms and an overhaul of its budget?

What is EU: Policies & Priorities?
Is 2008 going to be a steady year for the EU or is it going to be a vehicle for change? Has the EU got its Policies & Priorities right?

Financial Times Business in association with Agora projects is bringing together an outstanding cast of high-level contributors from government, experts from think tanks, academia and the media to set out policy options and plans of action.

Who are the contributors and the topics?
The EU has changed beyond recognition in the last fifty years. With its far-reaching policies, the EU touches over 400 million citizens and has ambitions to be an influential player and partner in the lives of another 5.5 billion.

In EU: Policies & Priorities, the policy areas are split into -

Economic Reform (including the Budget and making markets work)
Climate change and Energy security
Research & Innovation
Freedom, Justice and Security
The wider Europe and the near abroad
Europe in the world
Conclusions

The contributors include Janez Janŝa, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia; Jośe Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission; Ernest-Antoine Seillière, President of BusinessEurope; Martin Wolf, Associate Editor of the Financial Times; Ann Mettler, Executive Director of The Lisbon Council; Jean Pisani-Ferry, Director of Bruegel; Iain Begg, Professor at the LSE; Katinka Barysch, Deputy Director at the Centre for European Reform; Iain Begg, Professor at the LSE; Filipe Rufino, Journalist in Brussels; Karel Lannoo, CEO of the Centre for European Policy Studies; Joaquín Almunia, EU Commissioner; Charlie McCreevy, EU Commissioner; Jorma Olila, Chairman of the European Round Table of Industrialists; Simon Tilford, Chief Economist at the Centre for European Reform; Silvia Pavoni, Journalist at The Banker; Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California; Jacqueline McGlade, Director of the European Environment Agency; Charles Jenkins and Ben Jones of the EIU; Peter Sutherland, President of The Federal Trust; Clive Cookson, Science Editor of the FT; Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD; Janez Potočnik, EU Commissioner; Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner; Peter Grünberg, Nobel Prize-winning physicist; Fotis C Kafatos, President of the European Research Council; Tony Barber, Brussels Bureau Chief of the FT; Franco Frattini, VP at the EU Commission; Max-Peter Ratzel, Director of Europol; Hugo Brady, Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform; Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Columnist at the FT; Olli Rehn, EU Commissioner; Antonio Missiroli, Director of Studies at the European Policy Centre; Vuk Jeremic Foreign Minister of Serbia; Dan O’Brien of the EIU; Bernard Kouchner, French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs; Javier Solana, EU Representative; Gareth Evans, President & CEO of the International Crisis Group; Louis Michel, EU Commissioner; Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament; Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French Minister for European Affairs PLUS a range of corporate contributors including KPMG, Toyota, Syngenta, Nord Stream, Microsoft, Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, Valencia Community Investments and Intesa Sanpaolo.

Financial Times Business/Agora: EU: Policies and Priorities 2008 http://www.europeanunionfocus.com/PoliciesPriorities.html

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