EU leaders are set to call on the new European Commission to present in-depth policy reviews by mid-2025 for reforms needed to fulfil the bloc’s long-term ambitions, according to draft summit conclusions seen by Euractiv.
The draft, dated June 18, is in line with the bloc’s latest policy priorities: enlargement, defence, and competitiveness, particularly focused on accelerating the EU’s capital markets union reform.
The priorities will be finalised when the 27 EU leaders meet for a two-day summit in Brussels on 27-28 June.
The Council “looks forward to swift and decisive progress” on competitiveness “by the end of the year”, the conclusions say. In large part, this is expected to be achieved through better integration of capital markets, which will enable the flow of funds, in turn boosting European businesses on the global stage.
Former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta outlined a series of policy proposals for deepened capital markets integration in a high-level report on the future of the EU in April, including mimicking US tax credits and a deep tech stock exchange.
A second report by Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, is expected in the coming weeks.
One year from now, the Commission should come up with reviews of policy along four strands, the draft summit conculsions say: values, including “tools and processes to protect the rule of law”; policies that ensure long-term competitiveness and “leadership on the global stage”; budget; and governance.
The Council of the European Union is to present a report by June 2025, “reflecting on those four strands,” the draft conclusions say.
These reviews should inform the next steps, as the Union looks for internal reforms necessary to fulfil its “long-term ambitions” and “capacity to act in the face of a new geopolitical reality”, the summit document adds.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
