The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Commission Communication on the Annual Policy Strategy for 2009 (COM (2008) 72),

–  having regard to the implementation of the current Legislative and Work Programme 2008 (COM (2007) 640),

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the Structured Dialogue with the Commission is an important interinstitutional instrument for both the implementation of the current Legislative and Work Programme 2008 and the drawing-up and adoption of the Legislative and Work Programme 2009,

B.  whereas therefore it is crucial for the Structured Dialogue to be undertaken in sufficiently good time to make it possible to focus on defining the EU's key strategic objectives for 2009,

Growth and jobs

1.  Strongly supports the Commission for further developing the Energy Policy for Europe, in order to promote independence in the field of energy and strengthen solidarity between Member States;

2.   Welcomes more systematic and integrated monitoring of key goods and services markets, including investigations of competition aspects, but emphasises that this exercise cannot be to the detriment of SMEs in the internal market;

3.   Considers the Small Business Act a very important strategy to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises; notes also that a financial framework and legislative acts are required to support SMEs in the most appropriate way;

4.  Notes the Commission's intention to bring sectoral legislation in the area of the internal market for goods into line with the New Legislative Framework but again calls on the Commission to monitor implementation and enforcement by Member States, and draws attention to the need for an overall review together with a review of the General Product Safety Directive;

5.  Welcomes the work on retail financial services and calls on the Commission to rigorously follow the implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive; calls on the Commission to thoroughly study the means of cross-border redress in the retail financial services sector and suggests adopting a wider approach to redress procedures between consumers and business, as necessary;

6.   Welcomes the Commission's determination to make progress with work on retail financial services, as integration in this field has not yet reached its maximum potential and competition needs to be improved in some areas in order to bring about concrete benefits for consumers;

7.   Considers it important to reassure consumers in the light of the current financial crisis; reiterates the need for improved supervisory convergence, risk management and transparency in the financial sector, and points out that the review of the Capital Requirement Directive should provide for better policy actions which will maintain confidence between market players;

8.   Supports the development of a renewed VAT Strategy, especially the initiatives on VAT grouping, which will ensure healthy tax competition and will reduce administrative burdens;

9.  Considers that the EU regulatory framework for company law and corporate governance needs to be adapted to take into account the increasing cross-border activity of European companies within the EU and the continuing integration of European markets; again urges the Commission to submit a legislative proposal on the European Private Company Statute;

10.  Welcomes the Commission's wish to reduce emissions related to the transport of goods and calls on the Commission to submit a legislative proposal on the inclusion of maritime and inland waterway transport in the emissions trading scheme;

11.  Recalls the importance, for several reasons, of the installation of the European rail traffic management system (ERTMS) and urges the Commission to adopt every financial, legislative and regulatory measure which is essential for the effective implementation of this system;

12.  Considers that increased financial resources for cohesion policy must be guaranteed in the future in order to deal with the anticipated new challenges, which have a major regional impact; notes that, in addition to economic and social cohesion, challenges resulting from demographic changes, urban concentration, segregation, migratory movements, necessary adjustment to globalisation, climate change, the necessity to guarantee energy supplies, and the slow catch-up process of rural areas must be dealt with;

13.  Takes the view that cohesion policy should remain a Community policy in accordance with the Treaty and the solidarity principle, and therefore rejects all attempts to renationalise this policy;

14.  Welcomes the announcement of a future Communication on University-Business Dialogue but notes that further action is needed to remove bureaucratic barriers to higher education, with a view to ensuring that European universities are in a position to compete with the best universities in the world and to provide a sustainable level of excellence;

15.  Supports the initiative to issue a Green Paper on cultural and creative industries and stresses the need to further develop EU action in this sector, which significantly contributes to job creation and growth; considers that EU action should also aim at strengthening cultural identity and diversity.

16.  Regrets the low priority given by the Commission to culture and education matters in the 2009 Annual Policy Strategy; believes that increasing the competitiveness of the European economy and achieving higher levels of job creation requires decisive action to address the shortcomings in EU education systems and to improve language knowledge;

Climate change and sustainable Europe

17.  Welcomes the recently proposed energy and climate package as yet another significant step within the EU to transpose earlier commitments into concrete legislative actions; notes that improvement and early transposition of the final texts on the ETS, the CCS (acknowledging its contribution without considering it the ultimate tool to fight climate change), renewables and burden-sharing will give industry a greater lead-in time and will also allow the EU to retain its position as a leading force in the fight against climate change at the December UN climate change conference in Poznan; notes also that the EU continues to demonstrate that economic growth and development can be combined with a low carbon economy;

18.  Takes note of the recent paper from the High Representative and the Commission ('Climate Change and International Security') and emphasises the need for a joined-up approach to issues relating to energy, climate change and foreign affairs;

19.  Deplores the fact that the late arrival of some important packages (such as the climate package) and the elections to the European Parliament put pressure on decision-making bodies to arrive at early agreements or may jeopardise the finalisation of legislative acts during this parliamentary term;

20.  Acknowledges the efforts of the Commission to conclude preparatory work on various international obligations of the EU for 2009-2010 in the field of the environment despite 2009 being an election year;

Europe as a world partner

21.  Welcomes the importance given in the APS (Annual Policy Strategy) to the preparation of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon; notes that preparations will have to be undertaken both internally and in the Commission's relations with Parliament and the Council; underlines the importance of adequate preparations for the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, in particular as regards the establishment of the European External Action Service;

22.  Urges the Commission to contribute fully to the revision of the European Security Strategy and to the development of a coherent and intelligent Union policy with respect to NATO;

23.  Underlines the importance of concluding the accession negotiations with Croatia as early as possible, partly as a signal to the wider Western Balkan region that its future lies within the EU on the basis of meeting the necessary requirements;

24.  Calls for additional measures to strengthen the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and to make it more relevant to the countries concerned; points out that the European Union must maintain its commitment to democratic values and the rule of law in relation to those countries;

25.  Calls for further improvement in the prevention of, and preparedness for, early responses to conflicts and natural disaster situations and their consequences;

26.  Stresses the importance of defending and promoting human rights and respect for the rule of law worldwide, in particular in those numerous countries where human rights are not respected;

Making a reality of the Common Immigration Policy

27.  Welcomes the Commission's commitment to the development of a Common Immigration Policy, and emphasises that a ‘European Pact on Migration Policy’ should cover issues linked both to tackling illegal immigration and managing legal immigration, as well as launching a European asylum policy on the basis of proposals to be presented by the Commission before the end of the year;

28.  Stresses that border protection is equally a priority, and will in this context scrutinise the recent proposals (EU PNR, Eurosur, entry/exit and Frontex evaluation) while insisting on respect for strong data protection rules;

29.  Underlines that it is of the utmost importance to ensure the full commissioning of SIS II and VIS; equally underlines the need to strengthen Frontex, which is dependent on a commitment by Member States to provide personnel and equipment;

Putting the citizen first

30.  Calls for more initiatives in the field of civil justice in order to deliver the balancing legal framework that would afford certainty and access to justice; calls for further progress on the Common Frame of Reference (CFR) as one of the most significant pre-legislative undertakings and underlines the necessity of close cooperation between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on this project;

31.  Reiterates the political, social and legal desirability of putting an end to the hierarchy of protection against discrimination on different grounds; strongly believes that it does not make sense to outlaw discrimination in one area whilst allowing it in another and therefore welcomes the Commission’s intention to draw up a comprehensive directive to combat discrimination under Article 13 of the EC Treaty as provided for in its 2008 work programme;

32.  Awaits with impatience the long delayed Commission proposal on cross-border health care; also reiterates its commitment to improve health care in Europe, including support for an EU strategy to fight cancer and cardiovascular and other common serious diseases;

33.  Calls on the Commission to propose a recommendation on cardiovascular diseases, including high blood pressure, and early identification of high-risk individuals and prevention strategies in Europe, taking into account gender differences, so as to ensure gender equality in the health sector, as well as the Heart Health Charter;

Communicating Europe

34.  Calls on the Commission to place the citizen at the centre of the European project; urges the Commission to further focus its efforts to develop an effective communication policy in order to provide citizens with the means to better understand the EU, especially in the year of the European elections; underlines the importance of swiftly implementing the right of initiative for citizens as provided for in the Treaty of Lisbon;

35.  Reminds the Commission of its commitment, in the light of the proposed regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on access to documents, to bring about greater transparency and access to documents in order to bring the European Union closer to its citizens;

Agriculture and fisheries

36.  Stresses the importance of continuing reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); notes that the Health Check is an important political initiative by the Commission, which should seek to bring about the necessary simplification and adjustments for the period 2009-2013, and is an important stepping stone towards the reform of the EU's Financial Perspectives, which will examine priorities for after 2013;

37.  Stresses the importance of providing the EU integrated maritime policy with the appropriate financing and legislative tools necessary for its implementation;

38.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments of the Member States.