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"2014 will be a year of delivery and implementation", President Barroso said. "It is only through decisive and relentless action that we can show the citizens and businesses of Europe that they can look to the future with confidence. This is what the Work Programme 2014 is all about: decisive action. The Commission will actively help the European Parliament and the Council completing work on all the important proposals that are still pending. We will work hard to accelerate implementation on the ground. We will ensure that new EU funding programmes are up and running on time. We will deepen cooperation with and between the Member States to deliver the Europe 2020 strategy through the European Semester. There is a lot on the table and the Commission will push to finalise it".
Growth and jobs remain the Commission's top priority in 2014, with a particular focus on combating youth unemployment and facilitating access to financing. In line with the Blueprint for a deep and genuine Economic and Monetary Union, the Commission will continue work on completing the Banking Union, reinforcing economic governance and exploring further deepening of the EMU. The adoption of the Single Resolution Mechanism Fund is a priority, and the Single Supervisory Mechanism becomes operational in 2014. The Commission will also take the opportunity to take a longer-term perspective and look ahead in a variety of key sectors: on energy and climate change, on a modern industrial policy, on justice and home affairs policies, and on the rule of law.
In terms of external action, key areas include the trade agenda, notably negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the US, and important international negotiations, such as on climate change and development. But the EU must also continue to make its contribution to peace and security and to addressing humanitarian and political crises as they arise.
The Commission will also be paying particular attention to ensuring the successful launch of the new package under the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020. It is essential that these measures are swiftly operational, so that citizens and businesses can benefit as soon as possible from new investment and the delivery of new programmes.
For the first time, the Commission Work Programme includes a list of already-adopted legislative proposals which the Commission believes deserve special attention, given their importance and given that they are sufficiently advanced to have a realistic chance of adoption in the coming months. These issues (Annex 1 of the work programme) give a clear indication of the areas where the Commission will invest its attention in the six months before the European Parliament elections.
List of priority items for adoption by the European Parliament and/or the Council:
The Commission Work Programme 2014 adopted today includes a list of priority items for adoption by the co-legislators, a limited number of new initiatives, proposals following from the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme adopted on 2 October, proposals to be withdrawn, and a list of legislation that becomes applicable in 2014.
See also: 2014 work programme – Growth & jobs top the agenda, 29.10.13