Annual Policy Strategy for 2007 - Boosting trust through action

The goal of the Annual Policy Strategy is to isolate key priorities which will develop into the core actions for 2007. This needs to be done with a clear sense of continuity from one year to another. Priority actions for 2007 do not have a twelve month life span. Some will carry through decisions taken and consultations launched in 2005 and 2006. Many will not be finalised or implemented until later. This is why it is important to see these actions as part of a coherent and cross-fertilizing process of policy development, with individual actions in various fields, inside or outside Europe, constituting the building blocks towards the wider goals of Europe.

2007 will be the half-way point for this Commission. Some of its first policy initiatives will have worked through to implementation. New directions will set the scene for the second half of the Commissions mandate. It will be a critical year for delivery of the five-year strategic objectives. Time is pressing and 2007 must show real results. Tangible progress is essential to the credibility of Europes various multi-annual strategies.

The main objective must continue to be growth, to provide more and better jobs in Europe. Citizens are above all worried about their jobs, and this must remain Europes main priority. One fundamental operational goal for this Commission will of course remain the proper functioning of the enlarged Europe and the full application of Community policies and rules within all the Member States. These core activities are the foundation on which new policy priorities can be built.