EC work program for 2025.

The EC’s work program for 2025 was approved in February 2025, which includes ways to seek to increase competitiveness, improve security and strengthen the Community’s economic resilience. In the work program, the EC informs the public and co-legislators of its policy commitments to new legislative initiatives, including simplification proposals, withdrawal of pending proposals, and review of existing EU legislation.

EC work program for this year

The EC’s work program is based on the commitments set forth in the policy guidelines, which we wrote about in a previous article: The European Commission’s Policy Guidelines for 2024-2029. It focuses on the flagship initiatives that the EC will undertake in the first year of its term to address the issues that matter most to Europeans.

The planned activities reflect the need to increase opportunities and innovation and spur economic growth for citizens and businesses to support the creation of a more secure and prosperous Union.

Main objectives

• Sustainable prosperity and competitiveness:

The EU’s Start-up and Scale-Up Strategy will empower start-ups by facilitating access to capital. The centerpiece of the Joint Plan to Decarbonize and Increase Competitiveness is the Clean Industry Pact, which will facilitate the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent. By 2040.

• Defense and Security:

Faced with a tense geopolitical situation, the EU is stepping up efforts to protect security and ensure peace, and is outlining plans to build a solid defense future in Europe. Through joint and strategic investments in cooperation with NATO, the Union wants to strengthen its defense industry and reduce dependencies.

• People’s support, a strong society and a European social model:

To strengthen Europe’s unique and highly valued social model and enhance social justice, the EC will spearhead efforts to modernize policies through a new action plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights, which, among other things, will provide education and training for workers.

• Maintaining quality of life:

The EC will present a vision for the future of agriculture and food production to provide a stable framework for farmers and outline a roadmap for key legislative proposals. The Ocean Pact will create a unified policy framework, with the aim of preserving the health of the oceans and boosting the EU’s blue economy. In addition, the European Water Resilience Strategy will take a source-to-sea approach to effectively manage water resources while taking into account the impacts of climate change, such as floods and droughts. The Common Agricultural Policy’s Simplification Package will target reducing the complexity and administrative burden on farmers and national administrations.

• Protecting democracy and strengthening values:

Initiatives underway, such as the Democracy Shield, will help eliminate threats such as rising extremism and disinformation. The EC also plans to improve strategies to combat discrimination based on gender, disability, sexual orientation or race.

• Global Europe:

Working for Ukraine’s freedom remains a priority for the EU, but the Community is also committed to pursuing a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East based on a two-state solution. The Mediterranean Pact and the Black Sea Strategy will focus on regional cooperation, economic investment and security, and the new EU-India Strategic Program will provide a comprehensive approach to identifying areas of common strategic interest.

• To realize goals together and prepare for the future:

The EC plans to present a new multi-year financial framework, focusing on simplifying access to EU funding and increasing financial impact to support national, private and institutional financing.

Planned water conservation initiatives

The EC’s work program emphasizes that the oceans and seas play an important role in Europe’s prosperity, sustainability and security. It also mentions their unique ability to regulate the climate as the largest_CO2 sink on the planet, and that action to protect our oceans is crucial, both today and for future generations. The EC plans to adopt the following initiatives in this regard:

• Ocean Pact (planned adoption date: Q2 2025).

The Ocean Pact will create a single frame of reference for all oceans and for all policies related to them, and establish a comprehensive approach to the subject in all its dimensions.

• Sustainable water management (planned adoption date: Q2 2025).

Sustainable water management is one of the biggest challenges we face in dealing with the effects of climate change. Floods and droughts are becoming the norm, as the tragic events that have affected Europe in recent years show. In terms of resilience, the EC will take a source-whole sea approach and consider the very different challenges in regions and sectors to ensure that water sources are properly managed, scarcity and pollution are addressed, and the competitiveness of the water industry is enhanced.

Strategic program for implementation and simplification

The EC’s 2025 work program is accompanied by a communication on implementation and simplification. It sets out how the EC plans to facilitate the practical implementation of previously simplified regulations and reduce administrative burdens over the next five years. The communiqué sets out goals and tools to help reduce the regulatory burden, boost competitiveness and resilience, and quickly deliver significant improvements for citizens and businesses.

The 2025 work program places greater emphasis on simplification. It includes a first series of omnibus packages and proposals to make EU policies and regulations work better and faster, helping to strengthen Community competitiveness.