WHAT ARE THE KEY POLICY PRIORITIES OF THE NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSIONERS?
WHAT ARE THE KEY POLICY PRIORITIES OF THE NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSIONERS? A CICERO GROUP OVERVIEW After only a nine-vote majority in the European Parliament confirmed Ursula von der Leyen as the European Commission president-elect in July, the new Commission is facing further difficulties. Due to objections from the Parliament to three of the Member State nominees, new Commissioners-designate from France, Romania and Hungary still need to be named and vetted before the new Commission can take office, meaning a likely delay until 1 December. Despite the setback, work is ongoing within the Commission to establish the strategic and political priorities for the next five years. President-elect von der Leyen has set out her headline ambitions for the EU, including an increased focus on climate change, digital and innovation, and the rule of law. We should expect to see these themes reflected in the new Commission’s work programme, expected towards the end of this year. Below we set out the policy priorities for five of the most influential Commissioners. The as-yet unconfirmed Commissioner for the Internal Market will also have a wide-ranging portfolio, working closely with Vice-President Vestager on the Digital Services Act and AI, as well as the new industrial and SME strategies.
COMMISSIONER
PORTFOLIO
PRIORITIES A new EU industrial policy strategy and SME strategy to support European businesses, focusing on reducing the regulatory burden
Margrethe Vestager Renew Europe Denmark
Executive Vice-President: Europe fit for the digital age
A European approach on artificial intelligence – to be published in the first 100 days of the new Commission A new Digital Services Act to update EU rules for digital platforms, services and products A review of EU competition rules, including state aid, and stronger enforcement of existing rules
Completion of the Capital Markets Union, including improving the supervisory system Valdis Dombrovskis European People’s Party Latvia
Executive Vice-President: An economy that works for people
A new strategy for FinTech to support digital technologies, leading on from the 2018 Action Plan A common European approach to cryptocurrencies A new approach to fighting money-laundering, including better enforcement of current legislation
24 October 2019
Cicero Group | 1
WHAT ARE THE KEY POLICY PRIORITIES OF THE NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSIONERS?
WHAT ARE THE KEY POLICY PRIORITIES OF THE NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSIONERS? A CICERO GROUP OVERVIEW COMMISSIONER
PORTFOLIO
PRIORITIES An agreed approach to digital taxation with OECD partners – and an EU proposal if the OECD approach does not lead to consensus
Paolo Gentiloni Socialists and Democrats Italy
Commissioner: Economy
A proposal for an EU carbon border tax A fraud-proof VAT regime as part of the fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance Negotiations with the UK on the future regulatory framework following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU
Phil Hogan European People’s Party Ireland
Commissioner: Trade
Drive WTO negotiations on addressing the barriers and opportunities of e-commerce Continued focus on building trade partnerships with US, China, Africa, Australia and New Zealand Further work on consumer protection, focusing on cross-border and online transactions
Didier Reynders Renew Europe Belgium
Commissioner: Justice
The implementation and enforcement of the GDPR framework A new European rule of law mechanism to protect EU democratic standards
If you would like to speak to the Cicero team about this document, or how we can support your organisation and its public affairs objectives going forward, please do contact a member of the team below: Helena Walsh, Managing Director - EU Public Affairs BXL: +32 (0)2 612 8152 Helena.Walsh@cicero-group.com 24 October 2019
Kate Foster, Account Manager BXL: +32 (0) 2 612 8161 Kate.Foster@cicero-group.com Cicero Group | 2