PRIORITIES OF MR. JUNCKER FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS

Mr. Juncker as the next Commission President has set himself five priorities.

1. Put policies that create growth and jobs at the centre of the policy agenda of the next Commission. Creation of a digital single market for consumers and businesses  making use of the great opportunities of digital technologies. To do so, we will need to have the courage to break down national silos in telecoms regulation, in copyright and data protection legislation, in the management of radio waves and in competition law.

2. Reform and reorganise Europe’s energy policy in a new European Energy Union. We need to pool our resources, combine our infrastructures and unite our negotiating power vis-à-vis third countries. We need to diversify our energy sources, and reduce the energy dependency of several of our Member States. We need to strengthen the share of renewable energies on our continent. I therefore want Europe’s Energy Union to become the world number one in renewable energies.

3. Under my presidency, the Commission will negotiate a reasonable and balanced trade agreement with the United States of America without sacrificing Europe’s safety, health, social and data protection standards on the altar of free trade. Notably, the safety of the food we eat and the protection of Europeans' personal data will be non-negotiable for me as Commission President.

4. Continue with the reform of our monetary union, and to do so with Europe’s social dimension in mind.

a. Re-balance the relationship between elected politicians and the European Central Bank in the daily management of the Eurozone. The Eurozone should be managed by the Commission and by the Euro Group, which in my view should be chaired by a full-time President. The responsibility of the Euro Group includes issues related to the exchange rate.

b. Re-balance the way in which we grant conditional stability support to Eurozone countries in financial difficulties. I propose that in the future, any support and reform programme goes not only through a fiscal sustainability assessment; but at the same time through a social impact assessment. The social effects of structural reforms need to be discussed in public. A targeted fiscal capacity at Eurozone level could be developed to work as a shock-absorber, if needed.

c. Strengthen the external projection of our monetary union. A proposal for a joint representation of the Eurozone in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The euro must not only be stable on the inside, but must also have a strong common voice on the global stage.

5. Give an answer to the British question and find solutions for the political concerns of the United Kingdom.  As Commission President, I will work for a fair deal with Britain. A deal that accepts the specificities of the UK in the EU, while allowing the Eurozone to integrate further. The UK will need to understand that in the Eurozone, we need more Europe, not less. On the other hand, the other EU countries will have to accept that the UK will never participate in the euro. We have to accept that the UK will not become a member of the Schengen area. And I am also ready to accept that the UK will stay outside new EU institutions such as the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, meant to improve the fight against fraud in the EU, but clearly rejected by the House of Commons and the House of Lords. We have to respect such clear positions of the British Parliament, based on the British “opt out” Protocol. I will be ready  to discuss further British demands  in a fair and reasonable manner. My red line in such talks would be the integrity of the single market and its four freedoms; and the possibility to have more Europe within the Eurozone to strengthen the single currency shared so far by 18 and soon by 19 Member States.

IMMIGRATION

During my mandate as Commission President, I will build Europe’s immigration policy on five pillars:

1. Implement the Common European Asylum System, adopted in June last year, without delay. No rules are perfect, and the new rules are naturally the result of compromise. However, they have the advantage of being able to put a definitive stop to ‘asylum tourism’. We need the new EU rules in place swiftly to ensure an asylum seeker will have the same chances of being granted asylum in any of the Member States.

2. Speed up the practical assistance provided by the European Asylum Support Office, whose task it is to support Member States under “particular pressure”. What we now need is more thorough risk assessments to spot problem areas before they become overloaded. We also need tailored training for asylum officers in every Member State guarding an external border. And we need all Member States to work very closely together with the European Asylum Support Office, which can only execute its tasks if national authorities team up with it.

3. Step up cooperation with third countries, particularly North African countries. We must not only deal with the symptoms but go to the root of the problem and help bring about change in the countries of origin. European partnerships with North African countries to strengthen democracy and pluralism, the rule of law, religious freedoms and support the building up of stable economies are the best investment we can make to cope with the challenge of immigration. Building up successful projects in these countries should get all our attention in the years to come.

4. Europe needs more political determination when it comes to legal migration. We will only be able to cope with immigration if Europe adopts a sound policy that allows migrants to come to Europe legally and in a controlled manner. Organising legal migration is also in Europe’s own long-term interest. Demographic projections show that by 2060 the EU’s active population will decline by over 10%, or 50 million people, whereas the numbers of retired people will increase from 17.1% to 30%, and from 84.6 million to 151.5 million. This trend poses a real danger to the economic productivity of the EU, especially because soon there will be two members of the working population for every person over 65, instead of four as it is today. From 2015 onwards, demographic shrinking in the EU will mean two things: one: we will need to replace pensioners in the job market, and two: we will need to fill new jobs created to serve an ever-growing number of old people, particularly in the care sector. We therefore need to develop a common legal migration policy to meet the increasing demand for skills and talents. The EU-wide “Blue Card” work permit, introduced by the EU in 2012, is a first step, as it allows highly-skilled non-EU citizens to work and live in any EU country except Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. However, not all Member States have fully implemented the “Blue Card” Directive, and its practical implementation continues to be impeded by red tape at national level. Only 10 000 Blue Cards were issued in the first two years of the scheme. We will have to look at this again with a fresh pair of eyes to identify ways and means of substantially broadening this initiative. I want Europe to become at least as attractive as the favourite migration destinations such as Australia, Canada and the USA.

5. We need to secure Europe’s borders. Our common Asylum and Legal Migration policies will only work if we can also prevent an uncontrolled influx of illegal migrants. We therefore need to step up the operational capacities of the European border agency FRONTEX. A budget of just EUR 90 million a year is a good start, but does not yet equal the task of protecting Europe’s common borders. We need to pool more resources amongst Member States to reinforce the work of FRONTEX and put into action European Border Guard Teams for quick deployment in FRONTEX joint operations and rapid border interventions. We also need to apply and vigorously enforce our new common European rules to penalise human traffickers. Those criminals who exploit the pain and needs of people in distress or suffering from persecution need to know: Europe is on guard and will bring them to justice at every turn.

FOREIGN POLICY OBJECTIVES

1. Making the High Representative act like a true European Minister of Foreign Affairs

We need a stronger Europe when it comes to foreign policy. I believe we cannot be satisfied with how our common foreign policy is working at the moment. We need better mechanisms in place to anticipate events early and to swiftly identify common responses. We need to be more effective in bringing together the tools of Europe’s external action: trade policy, development aid, our participation in international financial institutions and our neighbourhood policy must be combined and activated according to one and the same logic.

The next High Representative for Europe’s Foreign Affairs and Security Policy will have to a be strong and experienced player to combine national and European tools, and all the tools available in the Commission, in a more effective way than as we have seen it over the past months. He or she must act like a true European Minister of Foreign Affairs, in concert with our European Commissioners for Trade, Development, Humanitarian Aid and Neighbourhood Policy. This will require the High Representative to more fully play his/her role within the Commission College, including other external relations Commissioners acting as deputies for the High Representative in case of a justified absence from College meetings because of foreign policy related institutional obligations or missions abroad. I will only accept a High Representative who is able and has the experience necessary to fill this role to the full.

2. Permanent structured cooperation in defence matters: I also believe that we need to work on a stronger Europe when it comes to security and defence matters. The Treaty of Lisbon provides for the possibility that those Member States who want to do so can pool their defence capabilities in the form of a permanent structured cooperation. This means those Member States who want to do so can engage in joint EU missions in crisis zones if needed.  This means Member States can create synergies when it comes to defence procurement. In times of scarce resources, we need to match ambitions and resources to avoid duplication of programmes. More than 80% of investment in defence equipment is still spent nationally today in the EU. More cooperation in defence procurement is therefore the call of the day, and if only for fiscal reasons.

3. A pause for enlargement: Europe now needs to digest the addition of 13 Member States in the past 10 years. Our citizens need a pause from enlargement so we can consolidate what has been achieved among the 28. This is why, under my Presidency of the Commission, ongoing negotiations will of course continue, and notably the Western Balkans will need to keep a European perspective, but no further enlargement will take place over the next five years. As regards Turkey, the country is clearly far away from EU membership.