The European Commission’s Stategic Objectives, 2000-2005 and Work Programme for 2000

• the 'Strategic Objectives' for the period 2000-2005
• the detailed 'Work Programme' for the year 2000

The two documents can be seen on the European Commission site [ http://europa.eu.int/comm/off/work/index_en.htm ]

Background
The European Commission is the EU Institution which has the formal power of legislative and policy initiative, and overseeing of the implementation of existing adopted policies. While it is true that there are a large number of inputs from other EU Institutions, Member States and other interests into the choice of policy priorities, initiatives and proposals for legislation, it is the Commission's formal role of initiator that leads to the significance of the announcement of the Commission's forthcoming priorities. Further information on the role of the European Commission can be seen in the http://www.europarl.eu.int/dg4/factsheets/en/1_3_8.htm [Fact Sheets] from the European Parliament.

It has become practice over the past few years when a new European Commission comes into office that it publishes an overall vision of its forthcoming five-year period of office. This is not a legal requirement but is becoming standard procedure.

The tradition of presenting to the European Parliament a Commission programme for the forthcoming year (often also encompassing a review of the previous year) goes right back to the beginning of the European Economic Community. For example, Walter Hallstein as the first President of the European Commission made a statement to the European Parliamentary Assembly on its first day of operation on 20 March 1958 on the work of the European Commission. This evolved over the years to formally become known as the 'Programme of the Commission' presented by the Commission President to the European Parliament in January or February each year. In the last few years, in the context of greater openness and transparency, the Commission has published a 'Work' or 'Legislative' Programme at an earlier time (usually in the autumn) outlining legislative and other initiatives for the forthcoming calendar year. The first of these was issued in November 1993. The Bulletin of the European Communities, No.11, November 1993, p112 says that the legislative programme has the following function:
A planning tool designed to give an overview of the Community's legislative business and is to be examined in an interinstitutional framework. It meets the need for transparency, that is to say for clear information on the grounds for and scheduling of Community legislative business, by distinguishing between planned legislation on which broad consultations could be held in advance, legislation that might require a business impact assessment and legislation likely to require an environmental impact assessment. The legislative programme also seeks to boost the efficiency of the Community institutions by presenting the specific objectives to be attained during the reference period in each of the major areas of activity under the Treaty on European Union...

With the exceptional circumstances surrounding the resignation of the Santer Commission in 1999 the presentation of the work programme for the new Prodi Commission for the year 2000 was delayed from the autumn of 1999 to February 2000.

Each of the other EU Institutions usually adopt a formal opinion in the following months commenting upon the Commission's Programme.

Strategic Objectives, 2000-2005
The aim of the Strategic Objectives 2000-2005 is to lay down the overall vision of the European Commission for the next five years. It argues that the need for Europe has never been greater:

• democracy needs strengthening within the EU to reassure those who fear its resilience can no longer be taken for granted
• instability beyond the EU is compelling it to act decisively in foreign affairs
• globalisation is changing the way we all communicate and do business, but many people feel disenfranchised.
• People are concerned over the food they eat and the air they breathe

Collective problems require united responses, but at a time when faith in the EU is at a low ebb.

The Commission outlines its responses to these challenges under four headings:

• creating new forms of European governance
• giving Europe a stronger voice in the world
• promoting a new economic and social agenda
• improving quality of life

The full text of the Strategic Objectives document is available: http://europa.eu.int/comm/off/work/2000-2005/index_en.htm , while a summary appears in European Commission: Press Release: IP/00/133. The full text was also issued as: European Commission: Document: DOC/00/4.

Work Programme for 2000
The Work Programme for 2000 lays down the first steps to transform the strategic objectives for next five years into reality by announcing the Commission's legislative and policy priorities for the year 2000. It is accompanied by an indicative list setting out the legislative and policy initiatives currently foreseen for the year.

The Programme is keen to stress that the introduction of new initiatives is only part of the work of the Commission. Much of the Commission's work is involved in the process of steering through on-going initiatives through the stages from consultation to final legislation and/or execution of decisions taken. A new service launched recently by the Secretariat-General of the European Commission called PreLex [ http://europa.eu.int/prelex/rech_suivi_legis.cfm?CL=en ][scroll down to 'Pending proposals..., and choose subject] allows one to trace the status of all existing Commission policy and legislative proposals in the EU's policy-making system.

In addition, the Commission indicates that much of its work is associated with the managing, implementing and policing of existing legislation and programmes.

The Work Programme for 2000 [ http://europa.eu.int/comm/off/work/2000/com155-1_en.pdf ] is broken down into the following sections:

• Europe, its neighbours and the world
• Foreign and security policy
• Multi-lateral trade, development, humanitarian aid
• Enlargement
• The economic and social agenda
• Economic and Monetary Union, the euro and managing the transformation of Europe's economy
• Modernising the social model, strengthening social cohesion
• Economic and social cohesion
• The Single Market, financial services and tax
• Enterprise, competitiveness and competition
• The information society, research
• Agriculture and fisheries
• Working for the citizen
• Environment
• Food safety, public health, consumer confidence
• Transport, energy
• An area of freedom, security and justice
• Education, culture, sport and audio-visual
• Reform and reshaping the way Europe works
• Internal reform
• Transparency and openness
• The Intergovernmental Conference

In addition, there is an Annex, [ http://europa.eu.int/comm/off/work/2000/com155-2_en.pdf ] which contains a detailed 'indicative list of actions foreseen' under the headings:

• Legislative proposals
• Non-legislative projects
• Autonomous acts

It is possible to access the Work Programmes for the years 1996- [ http://europa.eu.int/comm/off/work/2000/index_en.htm ]

A retrospective examination of the European Commission's work can be accessed through the annual General Report on the Activities of the European Union [ http://europa.eu.int/abc/doc/off/rg/en/welcome.htm ] and the monthly Bulletin of the European Union [ http://europa.eu.int/abc/doc/off/bull/en/welcome.htm