The ten priorities of the Juncker Commission: State of play a year on

Before his election to office in July 2014, the incoming President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, set out ten policy priorities which would serve as the political mandate for his five-year term in office. With the stated aim of focusing on the 'big things', he outlined ten priority areas in which he wanted the EU to make a difference and deliver concrete results for citizens. The Commission Work Programme for 2015 was based on these guidelines, and on putting these priorities into practice. Ahead of President Juncker's 'State of the Union' address, to be delivered at the EP plenary session on 9 September 2015, this briefing outlines the principal initiatives taken by the Commission since coming into office, under each of the ten policy areas: 1. A new boost for jobs, growth and investment 2. A connected digital single market 3. A resilient Energy Union with a forward-looking climate change policy 4. A deeper and fairer internal market with a strengthened industrial base 5. A deeper and fairer Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) 6. A reasonable and balanced free trade agreement with the United States 7. An area of Justice and Fundamental Rights based on mutual trust 8. Towards a new policy on migration 9. Europe as a stronger global actor 10. A Union of democratic change. Among major developments are the adoption of a Regulation on the European Fund for Strategic Investment, which is a key component of the Investment Plan for Europe, and the presentation by the Commission of framework strategies in several major policy fields (for example, Digital Single Market, energy, internal security, migration). The Commission has also made proposals in the area of better regulation, covering the entire policy cycle, aiming to improve the transparency and quality of EU law-making. While key initiatives of the Work Programme remain to be presented in the second half of the year (notably an action plan on Capital Markets Union, and a labour-market mobility package), the Commission has also been confronted with other major developments influencing the political agenda. On EMU, while progress was made with the adoption of the 'Five Presidents' Report', the agenda has been dominated by the Greek debt situation, while in the field of migration, the EU is currently confronted with an escalating crisis, which has prompted calls for a stronger and more concerted European response.