Commission Legislative and Work Programme 2008

The EU is moving forward. Following the recent agreement at the informal European Council, a ratified Treaty of Lisbon will equip the EU better to tackle the challenges and deliver policies for the 21st century. The Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs is feeding through into improved economic performance.

The EU has made a historic commitment to tackle climate change and bring about secure, competitive and sustainable energy. The Commission has started to frame policies for the future through the internal market review and the ongoing stocktaking of European society. The consultation now under way on the EU budget will help preparing the review of one of the EU's key levers for the next decade and beyond.

Europe is also pressing ahead with new relationships with key partners in the neighbourhood, in Africa and worldwide. With the latest enlargement now concluded, the EU has a new critical mass and a new reach.

There is a real consensus shared by the informal European Council of October 2007 and the European Parliament's resolution on the Annual Policy Strategy for 2008 that the focus should be on the capacity of an EU of 27 to make globalisation an opportunity for its citizens. This adds up to an excellent backdrop for the EU's ambitions for 2008.

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Commission Legislative and Work Programme 2008, Brussels, 23.10.2007