Publications Archive

The strategy „Europe 2020“ replaces the failed strategy of Lisbon and is to „turn“ the EU into a „smart, sustainable and inclusive economy“ delivering “high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion”. The Commission is setting five headline targets to be attained by 2020 with the highest priority being smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The European Council has approved three of the five key targets, but strongly mitigated the other two. Moreover, the Commission is putting forward seven flagship initiatives which are to “commit both the EU and the Member States” and to be pursued by the Commission and the Member States. The Commission intends to monitor progress of target achievement by reports to be provided by the Member States.

The Commission presents a strategy for encouraging the development and uptake of green road vehicles. In particular, it wishes to promote “clean and energy efficient” vehicles based on conventional combustion engines and “ultra-low-carbon vehicles“ through the deployment of new technologies such as alternative fuels, electric motors and fuel cells.

Within the framework of the Europe 2020 strategy, Member States agreed to improve there coordination of their economic policies. To this end, the Commission recommends to the Member States guidelines to harmonise their economic policies. In shaping their economic and fiscal policies and in developing national reform programmes, Member States should act in line with these guidelines.

The Commission wishes to combat offences that have a detrimental effect on the EU budget by harmonising provisions on penalties. To this end, it proposes a harmonisation of the relevant offences and prescription periods for prosecutions as well as minimum sanctions depending on the severity of the offence.

According to the Commission the potential of liberalisation of the electricity and gas markets should be further tapped. Competitive solutions are to increasingly enjoy priority over price regulation. Moreover, the Commission is making statements on the frequency of supplier switching.

In 2010, the Commission will publish a White Paper on the European transport policy for the period of 2010-2020. The present Draft Report of the transport committee presents the European Parliament’s prospective of the challenges and key issues of a future European transport policy. Moreover, it defines concrete “measurable” targets for the transport sector to be accomplished by 2020. For instance, CO₂ emissions from the road transport are to be reduced by 20% compared to those in 2010. Finally, the Report takes opposition to an inter-modal competition and instead chooses “effective comodality” as the preferred policy approach in the matter.

In the EU operators of fixed installations and aviation companies may emit greenhouse gas emissions only if they possess the corresponding emission allowances. According to the Commission, the reduction of prices for emission allowances is a result of the “imbalance between supply and demand”. Now, it proposes options for eliminating structurally and sustainably what it perceives as a "supply-demand imbalance“ in the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS).

According to the Commission key enabling technologies are of “systemic relevance“ for the European economy and provide the basis for process, goods and service innovation. Therefore, a process is to be launched whose purpose is to identify and promote the key enabling technologies in the EU. The research base for the development of key enabling technologies in the EU is to be strengthened through “the right framework conditions and support instruments“.Synergy effects created by a better coordination of research promotion and joint action by Member States are assumed to be beneficial to European companies. The Commission promotes the establishment of an EU patent and a unified patent litigation system in Europe.

The GDP was already developed in the 1930s. In the meantime it has become the best known indicator of macro-economic activity. According to the Commission there “is a clear case for complementing” GDP with indicators covering social and environmental issues “on which people’s well-being critically depends” but which are not taken account of in the current GDP calculation. In its Communication the Commission presents its ideas regarding new indicators.

The Commission wishes to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions caused by indirect land-use changes. To this end it wishes to limit the amount of how much conventional biofuels count to a maximum of five percentage points of the 10% expansion target, amongst other things.