2015 Commission work programme: what is in it?

The new Commission Work Programme for this year was welcomed by the business community, especially its focus on decreasing the regulatory and administrative burden. Businesses have the greatest expectations especially when it comes to the proposals on Energy Market, new Single Market Strategy and Digital Single Market. Moreover, they expect positive results from the better lawmaking efforts and revised rules in this area including new set up of Impact Assessment Board.

According to the European Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry EUROCHAMBRES it is hard to gauge how much substance the work programme will add to the positive jobs and growth rhetoric of the new Commission until further details are available on the specific content of the many laudable packages. The 2015 work programme tackles many areas that are crucial to driving the EU’s economic revival, none more so than market access. “We don’t need a new set of rules for the so-called digital single market; we need to ensure that single market provisions, in general, are fit for the digital era,” says General Secretary of EUROCHAMBRES Mr. Abruzzini. BUSINESSEUROPE welcomes that the Commission work programme focuses on key priorities, especially on those supporting growth and competitiveness. It also appreciates political willingness shown by President Juncker and his team. On the other hand, BUSINESSEUROPE would like to see stronger linkage of initiatives from the work programme with industrial competitiveness supporting measures which is the key priority for European companies. However the most important remains the implementation of new rules at the national level as well as adaptation of businesses to the new rules. Therefore business organizations EUROCHAMBRES, as well as BUSINESSEUROPE, agree less is more and positively assess shorter list of Commission ́s initiatives.

Last but not least the annex of planned withdrawals sends positive signs not to lose time with pending proposals and focus on initiatives where a compromise can be reached.