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The European Union

This publication is a guide to the European Union (EU) and what it does.

The first section explains in brief what the EU is.

The second section, ‘What the European Union does’, describes what the EU is doing in 35 different areas to improve the lives of people in Europe and further afield.

The third section, ‘How the European Union makes decisions and takes action’, describes the institutions at the heart of the EU’s decision-making process and how their decisions are translated into actions.

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1 The European Union in brief

The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political union between 27 European countries.

The predecessor of the EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries that trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict. The result was the European Economic Community, created in 1958 with the initial aim of increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Since then, 22 more countries joined (and the United Kingdom left the EU in 2020) and a huge single market (also known as the ‘internal’ market) has been created and continues to develop towards its full potential.

What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organisation spanning many different policy areas, from climate, environment and health to external relations and security, justice and migration. A name change from the European Economic Community to the European Union in 1993 reflected this.

The EU has delivered more than half a century of peace, stability and prosperity, helped raise living standards and launched a single European currency: the euro. More than 340 million EU citizens in 19 countries now use it as their currency and enjoy its benefits.

Thanks to the abolition of border controls between EU countries, people can travel freely throughout most of the continent. And it has become much easier to live and work in another country in Europe. All EU citizens have the right and freedom to choose in which EU country they want to study, work or retire. Every EU country must treat EU citizens in exactly the same way as its own citizens when it comes to matters of employment, social security and tax.

The EU’s main economic engine is the single market. It enables most goods, services, money and people to move freely. The EU aims to develop this huge resource to other areas like energy, knowledge and capital markets to ensure that Europeans can draw the maximum benefit from it.

The EU remains focused on making its governing institutions more transparent and democratic. Decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen. More powers have been given to the directly elected European Parliament, while national parliaments play a greater role, working alongside the European institutions.

The EU is governed by the principle of representative democracy, with citizens directly represented at EU level in the European Parliament and Member States represented in the European Council and the Council of the EU.

European citizens are encouraged to contribute to the democratic life of the EU by giving their views on EU policies during their development or by suggesting improvements to existing laws and policies. The European Citizens’ Initiative empowers citizens to have a greater say on EU policies that affect their lives. Citizens can also submit complaints and enquiries concerning the application of EU law.

As enshrined in the Treaty on European Union, ‘the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail’. These values are an integral part of the European way of life.

Human dignity must be respected, protected and constitutes the real basis of fundamental rights.

Being a European citizen also means enjoying political rights. Every adult EU citizen has the right to stand as a candidate and to vote in elections to the European Parliament, whether in their country of residence or country of origin.

Equality is about equal rights for all citizens before the law. The principle of equality between women and men underpins all European policies and is the basis for European integration. It applies in all areas.

The EU is based on the rule of law. Everything the EU does is founded on treaties, which are voluntarily and democratically agreed by its member countries. Law and justice are upheld by an independent judiciary. The EU countries have given final jurisdiction in matters of EU law to the European Court of Justice, whose judgments have to be respected by all.

Human rights are protected by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. These cover the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, the right to the protection of your personal data, and the right to get access to justice.

In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

EU Member States and institutions

At the core of the EU are the 27 Member States that belong to the EU, and their citizens. The unique feature of the EU is that, although the Member States all remain sovereign and independent states, they have decided to pool some of their ‘sovereignty’ in areas where it makes sense to work together.

In practice, this means that the Member States delegate some of their decision-making powers to the shared institutions they have created, so that decisions on specific matters of common interest can be made democratically at EU level.

Member States of the European Union in 2020

Several institutions are involved in making decisions at EU level, in particular:

• the European Parliament, which represents the EU’s citizens and is directly elected by them;
• the European Council, which consists of the Heads of State or Government of the EU Member States;
• The Council, (also called the Council of the European Union) which represents the governments of the EU Member States; and
• the European Commission, which represents the interests of the EU as a whole.

The national parliaments of the Member States also play a role in taking decisions and making laws, as do two advisory bodies. These are the European Committee of the Regions, which consists of representatives of regional and local government, and the European Economic and Social Committee, comprising representatives of employees’ and employers’ organisations and stakeholders’ groups.

Generally it is the European Commission that proposes new laws and the European Parliament and the Council that adopt them.

The advisory bodies (the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions) as well as the national parliaments are involved in the process by providing their opinions on the proposals, mainly from the perspective of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Subsidiarity means that, except in the areas where it has exclusive powers, the EU only acts where action will be more effective at EU level than at national level. Under the principle of proportionality, the EU’s action must be limited to what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the EU treaties.

The Member States and the EU institution or institutions concerned then implement adopted EU laws. The third section of this publication contains more information on how the EU makes decisions, and how it implements them.

The EU treaties

Every action taken by the EU is founded on treaties that have been approved voluntarily and democratically by all EU countries. The treaties lay down the objectives of the European Union, and set out the rules for how the EU institutions operate, on how decisions are made and on the relationship between the EU and its Member States.

In certain specific cases, not all Member States participate in all areas of EU policy. For example, while the euro is the single currency of the EU as a whole, the euro area currently comprises only 19 Member States, while Denmark has an opt-out and the remaining countries do not yet meet the criteria for joining. 22 Member States are members of the Schengen area, which enables passport-free movement, with five maintaining their own border controls.

Looking ahead

To keep the European project on course, the 2016 State of the Union address by Jean-Claude Juncker, then President of the European Commission, presented a positive agenda for a Europe that protects, empowers and defends. This message was welcomed by the European Parliament as well as by the 27 EU leaders at the Bratislava Summit on 16 September 2016.

The work on the positive agenda continued with the Commission’s White Paper on the Future of Europe in March 2017, offering five scenarios for what the EU could look like by 2025. Following the White Paper, the Commission contributed to the debate with a series of thematic reflection papers offering different options for the EU in certain policy areas: the social dimension of Europe; harnessing globalisation; the deepening of economic and monetary union; the future of European defence; and the future of EU finances.

The years ahead offer both opportunities and challenges for the European Union. The European Parliament elections in 2019 and the extraordinary summit to discuss the future of Europe in Sibiu, Romania on 9 May 2019, provided the EU with the chance to renew its commitment to delivering on the issues that really matter to people.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a Conference on the Future of Europe to give Europeans their say on how their Union is run, and what it delivers on. It will start in 2020 and run for two years, bringing together citizens of all ages from across the EU, as well as civil society and European institutions.

2 What the European Union does

The second part of this publication presents a summary of what the EU does in different policy areas, including useful links to more information.

We are currently updating the HTML factsheet versions under ‘What the European Union does’. The new versions are dated April, May or June 2021. Please note that the PDF and print versions of these factsheets are not up to date and the buttons link to the older versions. These will be updated soon

Health

COVID-19 response

Health

Climate change and the environment

European Green Deal

Climate action

Environment

Energy

Transport and travel

Food and farming

Oceans and fisheries

A stronger economy, social justice and jobs

Employment and social affairs

Regions

Business and industry

Research and innovation

Economy, finance and the euro

Banking and financial services

Single market

Consumer protection

Competition

Taxation

Customs

EU in the world

International partnerships

EU neighbourhood and enlargement

Trade

Humanitarian aid and civil protection

Foreign affairs and security policy

Values and rights, rule of law, security

Justice and fundamental rights

Digital transformation

Digital economy and society

A safer internet

European democracy

Migration

Migration and asylum

Borders and security

Education, culture, youth and sport

Education and training

Youth

Culture and media

Sport

Budget

Budget

Fraud prevention

April 2021

COVID-19 response

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to human tragedy, lockdowns and economic slowdown. The EU rapidly took action to protect lives and livelihoods and developed a common European response to the public health and economic challenges.

What the EU does

Solidarity is at the heart of the common EU response to COVID-19. The EU is mobilising all resources available to help Member States coordinate their national responses. This includes providing objective information about the spread of the virus, effective efforts to contain it and action to repair the economic and social damage resulting from the pandemic.

The rescEU medical reserve, the first common EU stockpile of emergency medical equipment, has helped Member States facing shortages of equipment. The EU vaccine strategy aims to speed up the development, manufacturing and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The EU financed some of the upfront costs faced by vaccine producers to speed up the development and production of promising vaccines as part of its vaccine purchasing strategy. To date, four safe and effective vaccines have been authorised for use in the EU following positive scientific recommendations by the European Medicines Agency.

The European Commission had secured up to 2.6 billion vaccine doses by April 2021 and negotiations continue for additional doses. In January 2021, the European Commission called on Member States to speed up the roll-out of vaccination across the EU. Vaccine deliveries to EU Member States are increasing steadily and vaccination is gathering pace. The Commission is also working with industry to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity.

Work has started to rapidly produce effective vaccines for new variants. In February 2021, the Commission launched the HERA Incubator to prepare for COVID-19 variants of concern and ensure the swift development and production of effective vaccines to counter them.

The EU budget for 2021–2027 and NextGenerationEU, the recovery plan, will provide €1.8 trillion to support people, companies and regions, particularly those most affected by the crisis. In addition, the SURE initiative (Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency) helps preserve jobs and support families in 19 Member States.

In March 2021, the Commission presented a proposal to create a Digital Green Certificate to facilitate the safe free movement of citizens within the EU during the pandemic.

The EU is committed to ensuring that safe vaccines reach all corners of the world. The Commission and EU Member States have pledged over €2.2 billion to COVAX, the global initiative aimed at ensuring fair access to COVID-19 vaccines, and are supporting vaccination campaigns in partner countries.

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• @EU_Health #SafeVaccines

April 2021

Health

Health is a major priority for the European Union. The EU’s health policy complements Members States’ policies to ensure that everyone living in the EU is protected from serious cross-border health threats and has access to quality healthcare.

While the organisation of healthcare is the responsibility of individual Member States, the EU complements national policies to reach shared objectives. The EU’s health policy focuses on tackling serious EU-wide health threats, preventing diseases and ensuring an equal chance of good health and quality healthcare for all. Working together also means pooling resources, which generates economies of scale.

What the EU does

The EU’s ambition is to ensure accessible, effective and resilient health systems in the EU. The EU’s work includes action on vaccination (including against COVID-19), fighting antimicrobial resistance, and preventing and limiting pandemics and other infectious diseases.

The EU’s role in preparing for and responding to serious cross-border health threats is essential to protecting people in Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a stronger European Health Union to tackle health crises, cancer and medicine shortages together.

Cancer is a major cause of death in the EU, as well as a high cost to health systems. The EU is supporting prevention, detection, early diagnosis and treatment as well as quality of life for cancer patients and survivors through Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. The EU is active in combating smoking through tobacco legislation and promoting healthy lifestyles.

The pharmaceutical strategy aims to improve access to affordable medicines for patients, including those suffering from rare diseases. It will also support innovation and diverse supply chains, with a view to enhancing our crisis preparation.

The main instrument for financing EU health policies is the €5.1 billion EU4Health programme. It will fund interventions to boost disease prevention and the preparedness and resilience of healthcare systems in the EU. In addition, the Horizon Europe programme will invest €5.4 billion in health-related research and innovation.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control assesses emerging threats so the EU and national health authorities can respond rapidly. And to ensure patients get the best treatment, all medicines in the EU must be approved at national or EU level (through the European Medicines Agency) before going on the market.

The European Health Insurance Card helps travellers obtain treatment if they fall ill while visiting another EU Member State, while EU law on cross-border healthcare sets out citizens’ rights when crossing borders for planned care. Through European reference networks, patients with rare or complex diseases benefit from the best expertise from across Europe without even leaving their home country.

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• @EU_Health

April 2021

European Green Deal

The European Green Deal is the EU’s action plan to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent. It is a growth strategy that aims to create, by 2050, a modern, resource-efficient and competitive European economy with no net emissions of greenhouse gases that leaves no one behind.

Climate change and environmental degradation are threatening Europe and the world. The atmosphere is warming and the climate is changing.

Environmental protection and economic growth can go hand in hand. Between 1990 and 2019, the EU cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 24 % while its economy grew by around 60 %.

What the EU does

The European Green Deal sets out how to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Reaching this target means creating a clean, circular economy, restoring biodiversity and cutting pollution. It requires action in all sectors of the economy, including:

• investing in environmentally friendly technologies;
• supporting innovation in industry;
• cleaner, cheaper and healthier forms of private and public transport;
• decarbonising the energy sector;
• ensuring buildings are more efficient;
• working with international partners to improve global environmental standards.

The EU is committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2050 and has set the target of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % below 1990 levels by 2030. The first-ever European climate law will set these goals in stone and ensure that all EU policies contribute to meeting them.

Significant investment from both the EU and the national public sector, as well as the private sector, will be required. The European Green Deal investment plan will mobilise at least €1 trillion in sustainable investments, while the Just Transition Mechanism will ensure that no region is left behind, providing targeted support to help mobilise at least €150 billion in the most affected regions. Climate action is a part of all the main EU spending programmes, with at least 30 % of the budget for 2021–2027 dedicated to climate-related initiatives.

The Green Deal is underpinned by an ambitious goal to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by transforming our food systems and our forest, land, water and sea use, as well as energy, cities and industry. The new EU industrial strategy will help Europe’s industry lead the twin transitions towards climate neutrality and digital leadership. Digital technologies will play an important part in achieving the EU’s 2050 climate goal, for example by optimising energy use in many sectors including agriculture, transport, and manufacturing.

Climate change and biodiversity loss are global threats and the EU will continue to lead international efforts to promote the implementation of ambitious environment, climate and energy policies across the world.

April 2021

Climate action

The EU is working hard to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The European Green Deal is the plan to make this happen; by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, investing in green technologies and protecting our natural environment, while also addressing the unavoidable consequences of climate change.

The EU is taking action in response to changes in the Earth’s climate, in particular the rise in global temperatures due to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity. Higher average temperatures have many consequences, including more frequent extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and storms. As well as posing a direct threat to people, these can also jeopardise food production and create water shortages, which can in turn trigger famine, conflicts and migration.

What the EU does

The EU is leading global efforts to fight climate change. It is actively working with other countries and regions to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global warming to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and it is making efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 °C.

The EU is committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2050 and has set the target of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % below 1990 levels by 2030. The first European climate law will set these goals in stone, while the ambitious package of measures that make up the European Green Deal will enable European citizens and businesses to benefit from a sustainable green transition that leaves no one behind.

This transition requires action by all parts of the economy and society. Individuals and communities can play their part through the European Climate Pact, which invites everyone to participate in building a greener Europe.

The EU’s strategy to adapt to climate change promotes actions such as building flood defences, developing drought-tolerant crops and changing building regulations, and supports international action for climate resilience.

Failure to address climate change would be very costly for the EU and the rest of the world. At the same time, the growing demand for clean technologies presents opportunities for innovation, industrial modernisation and green jobs and growth. The European Green Deal represents the growth strategy through which these opportunities will be harnessed. Climate action is a part of all the main EU spending programmes, with at least 30 % of the budget for 2021-2027 dedicated to climate-related initiatives.

The EU has a comprehensive set of measures in place to reduce emissions from all sectors of the economy. The EU emissions trading system cuts emissions from industry, power plants and aviation within Europe in a cost-effective way. EU Member States have also agreed national targets for reducing emissions in other sectors, such as transport, construction and agriculture.

April 2021

Environment

The EU has some of the world’s highest environmental standards, which protect nature and people’s quality of life, green the economy and ensure careful use of natural resources.

However, we are currently facing major global challenges which include climate change, biodiversity loss and resource scarcity. Meeting these challenges is urgent and will need a deep and fast transformation of our society, the way we live and the way we produce and consume. The EU’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic must be green, it must make Europe more resilient and it must be fair and inclusive for all.

EU environment policy plays a crucial role in supporting the European Green Deal in accelerating the transition to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient and regenerative economy that gives back to the planet more than it takes.

What the EU does

The EU is striving to reduce the environmental impacts of the production and consumption of goods and services. Becoming a circular economy, in which the value of products and materials lasts for as long as possible and waste and resource use is minimised, is essential to achieving the EU’s target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and halting biodiversity loss.

The new Circular Economy Action Plan, one of the main blocks of the Green Deal, aims to make sustainable products the norm in the EU. It focuses on areas with the most potential such as electronics, batteries and vehicles, textiles, construction and food. Under the plan, the plastics strategy aims to make all plastic packaging in the EU reusable or recyclable by 2030, while new rules target single-use plastics.

The EU must safeguard natural resources and halt the decline of endangered species and habitats. The EU’s biodiversity strategy will expand protected areas on land and at sea, plant billions of trees and encourage sustainable farming practices, among other actions. It will build on its existing Natura 2000 network of protected natural areas across the EU where sustainable human activities can coexist with rare and vulnerable species and habitats.

To protect people from environment-related pressures and risks to health, the EU aims to guarantee safe drinking water and clean bathing water, improve air quality, reduce noise and reduce or eliminate the effects of harmful chemicals.

The EU also plays a leading role in international efforts to promote sustainable development. Environmental challenges do not stop at borders. More action is needed globally to ensure clean air, oceans and other water resources and to ensure that land and ecosystems are used sustainably and that climate change is kept to manageable levels. Environmental standards are upheld through the EU’s trade deals with other countries.

April 2021

Energy

The EU’s energy policy aims to ensure a secure, competitive and affordable supply of energy, while meeting our climate targets.

Europe faces a number of major energy challenges. In addition to ensuring secure energy supplies at reasonable prices for everyone, the EU must shift from a fossil-based economy towards a cleaner, carbon-neutral system.

To make this transition, the EU needs to become more energy-efficient, scale up renewable energy, embrace innovation and new technologies, improve cross-border energy connections and reduce dependence on energy imports.

What the EU does

Each Member State defines its own energy mix, but the coordination of rules at EU level allows them to meet common political objectives.

Climate and energy are inextricably linked. Energy accounts for 75 % of greenhouse gas emission in the EU. To achieve its goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, the EU is seeking to completely redefine its energy system.

The Energy Union will deliver this transformation by coordinating with other policy areas such as transport, research and innovation, digitalisation, the circular economy and sustainable financing.

The clean energy for all Europeans legislative package will help to speed up the clean energy transition and deliver on the EU’s Paris Agreement commitments.

The decarbonisation of the power sector through renewable energy is one of the key elements of the European Green Deal. Offshore renewable energy is among the technologies with the greatest potential. In addition, the EU is taking steps to improve energy efficiency, including by renovating millions of Europe’s buildings and through ecodesign and energy labels.

The proposed EU strategies for energy system integration and hydrogen pave the way towards a fully decarbonised, more efficient, flexible and interconnected energy sector. In addition, the European Commission is looking at new challenges such as decarbonising the gas sector, for example by reducing methane emissions.

Tackling these challenges at EU level also provides new opportunities for growth, jobs, research, and a more competitive and sustainable energy market. Consumers should also benefit significantly in terms of their rights to change energy suppliers, and, ultimately, lower household bills and less air pollution. Some additional policies and actions that help ensure that the EU meets its goals include:

• new cross-border networks for gas and electricity, including projects to better integrate renewables into the grid;
• measures to step up efforts on batteries, including the creation of the European Battery Alliance to build up battery technology and production capacity in the EU;
• the initiative for coal regions in transition towards clean energy sources, leaving no one behind;
• contributing to the ITER international fusion project, one of the world’s most ambitious energy projects.

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• @Energy4Europe

May 2021

Transport and travel

The EU’s transport policy helps keep the economy moving by developing modern infrastructure that makes journeys quicker and safer, all while promoting sustainable and digital solutions.

Europe needs efficient transport connections to drive business, growth and employment, for tourism and leisure, and to keep people connected. Transport is a major contributor to the economy, directly employing around 10 million people. The EU’s transport policy focuses on creating a crisis-proof single European area with cleaner and greener transport and fair competition.

The Re-open EU platform provides practical information on COVID-19 and national coronavirus safety and travel measures such as quarantine and testing requirements in the EU Member States.

What the EU does

Thanks to the EU, the last 20 years have seen considerable progress in Europe’s transport sector, with safer skies, seas and roads; better working conditions for transport workers; more and cheaper mobility options and fast progress towards cleaner and digital solutions.

Transport accounts for a quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions and the European Green Deal aims to reduce them by 90 % by 2050. Achieving more sustainable and smart mobility means providing more affordable, more accessible, healthier and cleaner alternatives. A key objective is to boost the uptake of clean vehicles and alternative fuels and strengthen the role of sustainable transport modes, such as rail. In 2021, the European Year of Rail shines a light on the benefits of rail as a sustainable, smart and safe means of transport.

Improving efficiency is crucial. Digital technologies enabling automated mobility and smart traffic management systems, for example, will help with efficiency while also making transport cleaner.

Funded through the Connecting Europe Facility, with a budget of over €25.8 billion, the EU’s transport infrastructure policy aims to connect the whole continent. This includes bridging gaps between national transport networks and supporting investments in cross-border connections. It also prioritises environmentally friendly modes such as rail and the development of infrastructure for vehicles using alternative fuels.

Transport is the backbone of the single market, keeping the EU’s economy moving. By building a single European market in aviation and advancing on the Single European Sky initiative, flying continues to become easier and cheaper. Licensed rail companies can now offer their services anywhere in the EU and shipping companies can operate in more countries.

Safety and security are paramount. While there is progress in the right direction, around 18 800 people still lost their lives in road accidents in 2020. This is why the EU actively works to improve road safety. EU transport policy also helps travellers in other ways: air, rail, ship and bus passengers travelling in the EU have rights when they experience delays or cancellations.

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• @Transport_EU

May 2021

Food and farming

The common agricultural policy ensures a stable food supply produced in a sustainable way and at affordable prices for the EU’s 447 million consumers. It also helps tackle climate change, manage our natural resources and support jobs and growth in rural areas.

The common agricultural policy (CAP) is applied in all EU countries and is funded from the EU budget. It supports the EU’s vital food and farming sector, which provides nearly 40 million jobs.

Crises such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are a reminder that our food system is under threat and must become more resilient. A healthier and more sustainable EU food system is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal.

What the EU does

The CAP provides support through the following.

• Direct payments that support farm incomes. These offset the risks and uncertainties associated with farming and are allocated on the condition that strict food safety, environmental and animal health and welfare rules are followed.
• Market measures to deal with difficult situations, such as a sudden drop in demand due to a health scare or a fall in prices due to temporary oversupply.
• Rural development programmes (co-financed by EU countries) that foster innovation and competitiveness to make rural areas attractive places in which to live and work.

In 2019, the EU supported farmers to the tune of €57.98 billion, with income support comprising nearly three quarters of the total amount.

Proposals for the future common agricultural policy seek to shift the emphasis from rules and compliance to performance and results. They aim to foster a sustainable and competitive agriculture sector that can contribute to the goals of the European Green Deal. Farmers, agri-food businesses, foresters and rural communities have an essential role to play on many issues. One such issue is the Farm to Fork strategy that aims to protect the environment through sustainable food production and consumption. The strategy aims to promote healthy food for everyone and prevent food loss and waste, whilst ensuring farmers’ livelihoods. The future CAP is closely linked to the EU Biodiversity strategy for 2030 and is due to be implemented from 1 January 2023, pending final agreement between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

The EU’s General Food Law aims to protect people’s health and consumer interests, while ensuring the single market works efficiently. The European Food Safety Authority advises on food-related issues to protect people, animals, plants and the environment. The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed helps ensure that food that does not comply with European rules is removed from the shelves. Whenever significant outbreaks of animal disease or food poisoning occur, EU authorities can follow the movement of food products via the TRACES system.

June 2021

Oceans and fisheries

Our oceans produce most of the oxygen we breathe, regulate our weather and climate, and are home to the majority of the planet’s species. They are also important drivers of the European economy, providing us with food, jobs, transport and recreation. The EU works to protect our seas and oceans and to ensure that they remain environmentally and economically sustainable for future generations.

What the EU does

With a turnover of €650 billion in 2018, and employing close to 4.5 million people, the EU’s ‘blue’ economy sector is in good health. The EU’s Sustainable Blue Economy strategy seeks to harness the potential for sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole.

Thanks to research and innovation, the seas and oceans are a source of renewable energy, minerals and pharmaceuticals. The EU is in a unique position to develop offshore renewable energy thanks to the number and variety of its sea basins and the steadily falling costs of new installations. Proposals to maximise this potential will help the EU to meet its goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050.

While nurturing these new opportunities, the EU also plays an important role in promoting the responsible and sustainable exploitation of seas, both in Europe and globally.

The EU’s common fisheries policy aims to ensure that fishing and aquaculture (farming fish under controlled conditions) are environmentally, economically and socially sustainable. Its goals are to foster a dynamic and sustainable fishing industry, conserve resources and protect the marine environment while ensuring a fair standard of living for fishing communities. It contains a set of rules for managing European fishing fleets and for conserving fish stocks. To prevent overfishing, quotas for EU Member States set limits on how much of each species can be caught, while a landing obligation avoids the wasteful practice of dumping unwanted fish.

The EU has introduced protected areas to safeguard marine ecosystems and their biodiversity, along with the services they provide, and aims to protect at least 30 % of the EU’s seas by 2030. In addition, EU rules to tackle marine litter reduce the negative impacts of the 10 single-use plastic products most often found on Europe’s beaches and seas, as well as lost and abandoned fishing gear.

The EU’s common fisheries policy and maritime policy will be financed through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund. Pending its final approval, this fund will provide over €6.1 billion (2021–2027) for sustainable development in the sector, with a particular focus on supporting small-scale coastal fisheries.

May 2022

Employment and social affairs

The EU contributes to the creation of more and better jobs across Europe and aims for fair social standards for all, including through the €99.3 billion European Social Fund Plus for the 2021—2027 period.

Responsibility for employment policies and social affairs is shared between the EU and its Member States. The European Commission has made jobs, growth and investment a top priority, backed up by NextGenerationEU, the EU’s recovery plan to tackle the social and economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What the EU does

The EU’s employment and social affairs policies are designed to:

• create quality jobs throughout the EU;
• help workers to find employment in their own or another Member State;
• promote skills and entrepreneurship;
• coordinate and modernise social security schemes;
• create better working conditions through common minimum standards;
• support social inclusion and combat poverty and homelessness;
• protect the rights of people with disabilities.

The EU provides and coordinates funding to help Member States to invest in areas like childcare, healthcare, training, accessible infrastructure and help with finding a job. The European Social Fund Plus will help millions of people to acquire new skills, in particular those required for the green and digital transitions, and find better jobs. The Youth Guarantee helps ensure that all people under 30 receive a good quality and concrete offer of a job, apprenticeship, traineeship or continued education within 4 months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed. The new ALMA (Aim, Learn, Master, Achieve) initiative, meanwhile, aims to help disadvantaged young people who are vulnerable as regards their chances of accessing work or training for individual or structural reasons.

The European Skills Agenda is designed to help individuals and businesses develop more and better skills, and sets ambitious objectives to be achieved by 2025.

The European Pillar of Social Rights enshrines principles and rights in the areas of equal opportunities on the labour market, fair working conditions and social protection. An action plan to turn the principles into reality sets key targets for employment, training, and social protection and inclusion to be reached by 2030.

EU rules on social security coordination do not replace national systems but protect the social security rights of people when they move within the EU (and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). The European Labour Authority ensures that EU rules on labour mobility are enforced in a fair, simple and effective way. EURES, the European job mobility portal, helps connect jobseekers and companies offering a job, while the Europass service helps people build their CVs.

May 2022

Regions

Regional policy targets all regions and cities in the European Union in order to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth and sustainable development, and to improve citizens’ quality of life.

Modernising the airports of Riga and Wrocław; improving urban mobility in Athens, Sofia and Cluj-Napoca; preserving Mont Saint-Michel and safeguarding Pompeii; developing broadband infrastructure across Lithuania; supporting businesses in Utrecht and Paredes; renewing wastewater treatment in Trenčín and Slavonski Brod; and promoting the use of information technologies in universities in Nicosia and Ljubljana – these are just some examples of the thousands of projects co-funded by the EU’s regional policy.

What the EU does

Regional policy underpins European solidarity, boosting economic growth and improving quality of life through strategic investment. It dedicates the bulk of its funding to help the EU’s less-developed countries and regions to catch up and to therefore reduce the economic, social and territorial disparities that still exist in the EU.

Regional policy is jointly managed by the European Commission and the EU Member States and their regions, which choose the projects that will be co-financed by the EU under programmes agreed on in advance with the Commission. EU funds are always topped up with national (private and/or public) funds.

Through the European territorial cooperation (Interreg) programmes, regional policy pays particular attention to the needs and potential of border regions.

Almost a third (€392 billion) of the EU’s 2021–2027 budget has been set aside for regional policy. These resources are used to finance strategic transport and communication infrastructures; to favour a transition to a more environmentally friendly economy; to help small and medium-sized enterprises to become more innovative and more competitive; to create new and lasting job opportunities; to reinforce and modernise education systems; and to build a more inclusive society.

In addition, under NextGenerationEU, the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU) will provide more than €50 billion of fresh resources to existing programmes in the Member States until 2023 to support the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

To achieve the EU’s goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent, the Just Transition Mechanism will help mobilise around €55 billion between 2021 and 2027 to support regions most affected by the shift to a climate-neutral economy. The proposed Social Climate Fund also aims to help Member States support the transition to climate neutrality for people most reliant on fossil fuels.

Business and industry

The EU aims to make industry and business more competitive and to promote jobs and growth through a business-friendly environment.

The EU’s business and industrial policy is designed to improve the business environment, promote a climate of entrepreneurship and job creation and give small businesses easier access to finance and markets. Small and medium-sized enterprises represent 99% of all businesses in the EU, providing two thirds of total private-sector employment. EU policies encourage the creation of new businesses and support innovative enterprises in their efforts to scale up. Enhanced trade agreements open markets for EU businesses, and action can be taken to prevent unfair competition from outside the EU. The EU aims to:

• strengthen its industrial base and promote the transition to a low-carbon economy;
• promote innovation as a means to generate new sources of growth;
• encourage small businesses and promote an entrepreneurial culture;
• guarantee an EU-wide market for goods; and
• maximise the benefits of the EU’s investment in space.

What the EU does

The EU is committed to helping businesses and industry to be competitive and to generate growth and new jobs. The aim is to help European companies to become smarter, more innovative and more sustainable. Industrial policy contributes to competitiveness by establishing appropriate framework conditions (such as smart legislation and skills development). The European Commission has developed sector-specific action plans and legislation to support more than a dozen key industrial sectors, including the chemicals, automotive, food, healthcare, biotechnology and aeronautics industries. The Commission is also responsible for sectors with geostrategic implications and a high degree of public intervention, such as defence, security and space.

The European Commission, together with the European Investment Bank, launched the Investment Plan for Europe. As part of the plan, the European Fund for Strategic Investments was created to mobilise investment across Europe. By November 2018 the plan had mobilised €360 billion worth of investments. The fund provides guarantees in support of projects financed by the European Investment Bank, focusing on infrastructure, innovation and smaller companies. Around 850 000 small and medium-sized companies are set to benefit from improved access to finance. The Commission manages several EU programmes to support innovation and entrepreneurship, including:

• COSME – the programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises;
• Horizon 2020 for research and innovation;
• Galileo for satellite navigation and Copernicus for earth observation, which deliver services that benefit millions of people and businesses.

The EU also offers businesses a number of support services including the Enterprise Europe Network and Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs.

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• @EU_Growth/@EEN_EU

May 2022

Research and innovation

The €95.5 billion research and innovation programme Horizon Europe is helping to boost jobs and growth and tackle some of our biggest challenges.

Research and innovation are essential to our economy and society. They are at the heart of European efforts to create jobs and boost growth and investment, and help make people’s lives better through improvements in areas such as healthcare, transport and energy. They also provide us with the knowledge and solutions to tackle both urgent problems such the COVID-19 pandemic and longer-term challenges such as climate change and the fight against cancer.

What the EU does

The EU is the world’s biggest knowledge factory, accounting for almost a third of global science and technology production. However, in the face of increasing competition, the EU must keep turning excellent research and innovative ideas into successful technologies and products. All EU Member States have their own research policies and funding programmes, but many important issues can be best tackled by helping researchers and innovators in different countries to work together. This is why research and innovation is supported at EU level, in particular through the Horizon Europe programme.

Horizon Europe is one of the largest and most ambitious research programmes in the world, investing €95.5 billion of funding (2021–2027), in addition to the other public and private investment that this money attracts. Building on the achievements of the Horizon 2020 programme, it continues to drive Europe’s scientific excellence through the European Research Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships and exchanges. It also draws on the scientific advice, technical support and dedicated research of the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, the Joint Research Centre.

Horizon Europe has established a series of EU missions – a new way of working together to tackle big challenges in health, climate and the environment. Each of the five missions work as a set of actions to achieve concrete results by 2030.

Horizon Europe also supports European partnerships, which bring the EU, national authorities and the private sector together to address some of Europe’s most pressing challenges through concerted research and innovation initiatives. They will help strengthen the new European Research Area, which aims to create a single EU market for research, innovation and technology and enables countries to be more effective by aligning their research policies and programmes.

Mandatory open access to publications and open science principles are applied throughout the Horizon Europe programme.

Economy, finance and the euro

Economic and monetary union and the euro provide the common foundations for greater stability, growth and prosperity across Europe.

Economic and monetary union unites and integrates EU economies through coordinated economic and fiscal policies, a common monetary policy and a common currency, the euro. It is a powerful tool to deliver jobs, growth, social fairness and financial stability, but is a work in progress that still needs to be completed.

What the EU does

The EU’s economic and financial policies in the euro area and the EU aim to:

• promote growth and employment;
• promote macroeconomic and fiscal stability;
• improve the efficient functioning of economic and monetary union;
• promote investment;
• prevent or correct macroeconomic imbalances;
• help to coordinate national structural policies; and
• promote prosperity beyond the EU.

In reaction to the economic and financial crisis of 2008, the EU’s economic governance was strengthened through improvements to the Stability and Growth Pact, the fiscal rules Member States follow to facilitate and maintain the stability of economic and monetary union. Countries that were shut out of financial markets, such as Greece, received financial and policy support and the European Stability Mechanism was created as the euro area’s permanent solution for such situations.

The Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure was also introduced to monitor and correct potentially problematic economic trends in individual Member States and prevent them from affecting others.

The euro, in circulation since 2002 and used by more than 340 million people in 19 Member States, is the world’s second most important currency after the US dollar. A single currency is practical for citizens and good for business, and represents a major achievement of European integration.

The Investment Plan for Europe, adopted in November 2014, uses public guarantees to stimulate private investment. The plan’s European Fund for Strategic Investments has already mobilised €439  billion worth of investments (by October 2019), exceeding expectations. The plan’s investments have supported the creation of 1.1 million jobs, a figure set to rise to 1.7 million by 2022. More than one million small and medium-sized companies are set to benefit from improved access to finance and the plan has helped to boost EU gross domestic product by 0.9%.

Banking and financial services

The EU is working to ensure the financial system remains strong and secure and that the single market offers consumers and businesses the financial products they need.

Financial institutions and markets play a vital role in the stability and growth of the EU economy. They provide funding to households and businesses, allow people to save and invest, provide insurance against risks and facilitate payments.

A failure of the financial system can have wide-ranging consequences. The 2008 financial crisis showed that no single EU country can manage the financial sector and supervise financial stability risks alone. In the wake of the crisis the EU carried out ambitious reforms to strengthen the financial system and the EU’s ability to deal with future financial and economic shocks. This includes strengthening the rules to protect deposits in case of bank failure.

What the EU does

The EU aims to build a strong, secure financial sector by strengthening the supervision of financial institutions and regulating complex financial products. The European Commission continues to work on maintaining a stable and resilient financial system and addressing the remaining risks while keeping the regulatory framework up to speed with technological and economic developments.

The single rulebook created common rules for supervising bank capital requirements, improved protection of depositors and managing failing banks. The banking union transferred bank supervision and resolution from national to EU level in the 19 Member States of the euro area. The capital markets union creates the necessary framework to mobilise capital in Europe and channel it to all companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises, and infrastructure projects that need it to expand and create jobs.

There is not as yet a fully integrated EU single market for consumer financial services, which still operate largely on a national basis. This makes it difficult for consumers to access or transfer financial products like bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages and insurance across borders. The EU is working on making financial services work better for consumers and small investors. For example, it has taken measures to guarantee an EU-wide right of access to basic bank accounts. It also seeks to further harness the potential of digitalisation and technological developments to improve consumer access to financial services.

The EU has presented an Action Plan on sustainable finance, which is investment that takes into account environmental, social and governance considerations. This is part of the capital markets union’s efforts to connect finance with the specific needs of the European economy to the benefit of the planet and our society. It is also one of the key steps towards implementing the Paris Agreement and the EU’s agenda for sustainable development.

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Single market

The single market is one of the EU’s greatest achievements. It fuels growth and jobs and makes everyday life easier for people and businesses.

Thanks to the single market (sometimes also called the internal market) people, goods, services and money can move around the EU almost as freely as within a single country. EU citizens can study, live, shop, work and retire in any EU country, and enjoy products from all over Europe.

Hundreds of technical, legal and bureaucratic barriers to free trade and free movement between EU Member States have been removed to make things flow more easily within the single market. As a result, companies have expanded their operations and competition has brought prices down and given consumers more choice. For example, phone calls in Europe are much cheaper, and airfares have fallen significantly and new routes have opened up. At the same time, the EU works to ensure that these greater freedoms do not undermine fairness, consumer protection or environmental sustainability.

What the EU does

The European Commission works with authorities and stakeholders in Member States to monitor and enforce the existing rules so that people and businesses can benefit from the opportunities offered by the single market. However, some barriers remain to a fully functioning single market. The EU is in particular working to:

• address current regulatory or administrative obstacles that prevent people from easily buying or selling goods and services from or in another Member State;
• make it easier for companies – big and small – to raise money through the Investment Plan for Europe and the capital markets union;
• encourage workers to take up jobs in other EU countries in order to fill vacancies and meet the need for special skills, including through the European Professional Card and the EURES job mobility portal;
• prevent social dumping, the practice of using cheaper labour and moving production to a low-wage country or area;
• boost cooperation between national tax authorities; and
• establish a common consolidated corporate tax base in the EU and a financial transaction tax.

In addition to the single market’s rules guaranteeing free movement of people, EU citizens do not need a passport to travel within the Schengen area, which currently comprises the EU Member States (except Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania), plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. To ensure safety in the Schengen area, these countries have stepped up checks on the EU’s external borders and also increased police cooperation.

The Your Europe portal provides information on living, working, travelling, studying and doing business in another EU country. It also offers access to services such as Your Europe Advice (for personalised legal advice) and SOLVIT (solving problems with public authorities abroad).

May 2022

Consumer protection

EU consumer policy safeguards consumers’ rights, ensures products are safe, helps people make informed choices when they buy goods and services, and offers tools to solve problems if something goes wrong.

The EU single market offers consumers access to greater choice, flexibility, quality and value for money. EU consumer policy ensures that people’s rights will be upheld if they encounter any problems when buying goods or services from other Member States, building trust and encouraging trade, including online.

What the EU does

The New Consumer Agenda sets out the EU’s strategy up until 2025. It outlines the actions that the EU will take to respond to new challenges such as COVID-19 and the green and digital transitions. These include addressing environmental and sustainability concerns, enforcing consumer rights and protecting vulnerable consumers.

The EU offers consumers a set of practical rights when something goes wrong.

• Online shoppers have 14 days to reconsider their purchase and withdraw. They may return a product within 2 weeks and get their money back.
• If an item bought in the EU (online or in a shop) is not as advertised or does not work properly, the consumer has the right to at least a free repair or replacement.
• EU rules on mortgage credits ensure clear information in advertisements and timely information to consumers before signing a contract.
• There are minimum standards for passenger rights across all modes of transport, including information, assistance and compensation in case of cancellation or long delay.

The EU also provides help to resolve disputes with traders quickly and efficiently. The online dispute resolution platform allows consumers and traders to resolve disputes over online purchases. The European Consumer Centres Network provides free help and advice to consumers on their cross-border purchases. New EU rules will, by mid-2023 at the latest, make it easier for organisations to defend the collective interests of consumers and bring actions to court.

Stringent safety, health and environmental standards apply to toys, electrical appliances, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Strict rules ensure that unsafe products are recalled from the market, with hundreds of products notified via the EU’s rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products every year. In 2021, the European Commission proposed to revise rules on product safety, including new rules for online marketplaces, along with a revision of EU rules on consumer credit.

The EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan aligns consumer and environmental rights, focusing on higher quality, longer lasting, sustainable products.

Competition

EU competition rules aim to ensure that all companies compete fairly and equally in the single market to the benefit of consumers, businesses and the European economy as a whole.

Together with national competition authorities and national courts, the European Commission enforces EU competition policy and rules to ensure that companies compete fairly with each other. This helps to reduce prices and improve quality, encourages innovation and efficiency and creates a wider choice for consumers.

What the EU does

The Commission takes action in regard to:

• cartels or other illegal arrangements between companies to avoid competing with each other or to set artificially high prices;
• cases where major players abuse their dominant position on markets to try to squeeze out competitors or charge excessive prices;
• company mergers and takeovers that could restrict competition in the single market;
• financial support (state aid) from EU governments to companies, which may distort competition in the single market by favouring some companies over others; and
• promoting competition culture internationally so that EU companies enjoy fair competition on markets elsewhere in the world.

EU investigations into anti-competitive practices can cover not only goods but also professions and services. The Commission monitors the assistance Member State governments give to businesses to ensure that it does not give certain companies an unfair advantage over their competitors. State aid may be allowed if it helps or promotes disadvantaged regions, small and medium-sized businesses, research and development, environmental protection, training, employment or culture.

In 2016 and 2017 the Commission fined the members of a truck producers’ cartel of six leading companies that produce more than 90% of medium-sized and heavy trucks sold in Europe: Scania, Daimler, DAF, Iveco, MAN and Volvo/Renault. The Commission fined the six companies a total of €3.8 billion. This money goes into the EU budget, thereby reducing taxpayers’ contribution.

Big firms are barred from using their bargaining power to impose conditions that would make it difficult for their suppliers or customers to do business with their competitors. For example, in 2017 the European Commission fined Google €2.42 billion for abusing its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results and demoting those of competitors. And in July 2018 Google was fined another €4.34 billion for imposing illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers. Search for cases here.

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• @EU_Competition

Taxation

While national governments are responsible for setting tax rates and collecting taxes, the EU ensures that people or businesses from another Member State are not discriminated against and that taxes do not hinder the EU’s single market.

Member State governments are broadly free to design their tax laws according to their national priorities. However, in doing so they must respect certain fundamental principles, such as non-discrimination and respect for free movement of goods and services in the single market. More and more companies and individuals are active in more than one country, making it easier for them to try to pay the least tax possible (‘tax avoidance’) or to not pay taxes due (‘tax evasion’) through legal means. A single country cannot tackle these issues on its own, so EU Member States work together to make sure that taxation is fair.

What the EU does

The EU does not have a direct role in raising taxes or setting tax rates. The EU’s role is to oversee national tax rules to ensure they are consistent with certain EU policies such as:

• promoting economic growth and job creation;
• ensuring the free flow of goods, services and capital around the EU in the single market;
• making sure businesses in one country do not have an unfair advantage over competitors in another;
• ensuring taxes do not discriminate against consumers, workers or businesses from other EU countries.

The governments of all Member States must agree when it comes to making EU decisions on tax issues so that the interests of every EU country are taken into account. For some taxes, such as value added tax or excise duties on petrol, tobacco and alcohol, Member States have agreed to broadly align their rules and minimum rates to avoid unfair competition within the single market.

The tax laws of one Member State should not allow people or businesses to escape taxation in another. EU-wide action is essential to tackle the problem. Following the adoption of an EU action plan in 2012 many legislative steps have been taken to fight tax fraud, evasion and avoidance.

Close coordination between tax administrations also helps to prevent companies from exploiting loopholes between different countries’ systems with the aim of reducing the amount of taxes they pay.

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• @EU_Taxud

Customs

The EU’s customs union means that all Member States are working together to ensure that goods imported into the EU circulate freely and that they are safe for people, for animals and for the environment.

A customs union means that the countries involved apply the same tariffs to goods imported into their territory from the rest of the world, and apply no tariffs internally. In the case of the EU this means that there are no customs duties to be paid when goods are transported from one Member State to another.

The EU customs union is one of the few exclusive competences of the European Union. The European Commission proposes legislation on EU customs affairs and makes sure it is being implemented.

What the EU does

In practice, the EU’s customs union is managed by the national customs services acting as if they were one. They protect consumers from goods that could be dangerous or bad for their health and protect animals and the environment against plant and animal diseases. They also contribute to the fight against organised crime and terrorism and make sure European treasures are not smuggled out.

The customs services also prevent illegal exports of waste, since protecting the environment is one of their key tasks. For businesses, the customs union means that regardless of where goods enter the EU the same rules apply, and once the goods have cleared customs they can circulate freely or be sold anywhere within the EU customs territory.

In 2016, for example, almost 313 million customs declarations were handled by more than 2 000 EU customs offices working 365 days a year.

The EU’s customs policy currently focuses on the following areas:

• making sure all Member States work together effectively and efficiently within the customs union;
• proposing legislation and procedures to ensure better security and safety for citizens as well as to facilitate legitimate trade;
• helping EU countries to exchange information that could be useful for customs agencies; and
• making sure goods can move freely from one Member State to another in the EU’s single market.

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June 2021

International partnerships

Partnerships and development cooperation lie at the heart of the EU’s foreign policy. The EU and its Member States are the world’s largest provider of development aid.

Development assistance is one of the pillars of the EU’s action around the world, alongside foreign, security and trade policies. The EU promotes poverty eradication, human development, sustainable growth and good governance. It does this by creating partnerships to address global challenges such as climate change, natural resources depletion and irregular migration. The EU upholds effective multilateralism and works with all stakeholders, since current challenges call for more multilateral governance and rules-based international cooperation.

What the EU does

The EU sees international partnerships as an investment in a viable, sustainable and shared future. The EU is a leading advocate of the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The European consensus on development sets out how the EU focuses on ‘people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership’ in working towards the sustainable development goals. The EU structures its external action around:

• green deal alliances;
• alliances for science, technology, innovation, and the digital transition;
• alliances for sustainable growth and jobs, including through investment in education and skills;
• migration partnerships;
• governance, peace and security and human development, with a particular focus on women and youth.

The Africa–EU partnership remains a key priority for the EU.

In 2020, the EU responded quickly to the COVID-19 crisis. The ‘team Europe’ approach, which combines resources, expertise and tools from the EU, its Member States and financial institutions, has helped the EU’s partners mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The EU is also is leading the charge to make safe and effective vaccines accessible to all. The team Europe approach is now being applied in the EU’s budget for external action: the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – ‘Global Europe’.

The EU dedicates around 10 % of its budget to external action. The EU’s delegations work hand-in-hand with governments, international organisations, EU Member States and the private sector to increase the impact of Europe’s support. Collectively, the EU and its Member States provided €66.8 billion of aid in 2020.

The values of respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law guide the EU’s actions around the world. The EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy focuses on protecting and empowering individuals, building resilient, inclusive and democratic societies and promoting human rights worldwide. Thanks to the Gender Action Plan, gender equality and women’s empowerment are at the forefront of the EU’s work.

April 2021

EU neighbourhood and enlargement

The EU encourages stable democracies and economies in neighbouring countries by building tailor-made partnerships based on shared interests and cooperation at bilateral or regional level.

What the EU does

European Neighbourhood policy governs the EU’s relations with 16 of its closest neighbours. To the south: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine*, Syria and Tunisia. To the east: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

This cooperation aims mainly to:

• stabilise neighbouring countries by addressing economic development, employment and opportunities for young people, transport and energy connectivity, security and migration;
• promote the values of good governance, democracy, the rule of law and human rights;
• facilitate cooperation at regional level, for example through the Eastern Partnership and the Union for the Mediterranean.

In addition, in the Southern Neighbourhood the EU works alongside its partners to resolve crises such as in Syria or Libya, and to regulate migration flows.

EU Enlargement policy covers Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo**, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. The prospect of EU membership is a powerful stimulus for democratic and economic reforms in European countries that want to join the EU. It helps to foster reconciliation and stability. A European country can only become an EU Member State if it meets democratic standards (including the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities); has a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU; and can take on the responsibilities of EU membership.

Turkey is the EU’s partner in many essential areas, however in recent years it has been moving further away from the EU’s core values and principles. Turkey’s accession negotiations, therefore, are effectively frozen. The European Union has a strategic interest in a stable and secure environment in the eastern Mediterranean and in the development of a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey.

In 2020, the EU provided aid worth €7.47 billion to neighbourhood and enlargement regions to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU has provided emergency response, supported research, health and water systems and addressed the economic and social consequences of the pandemic.

• This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.

• This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

June 2021

Trade

The EU champions free trade. 35 million European jobs are, directly or indirectly, supported by trade with countries outside the EU. The EU fights for open, rules-based markets, a level playing field and the highest international standards across the world.

The EU is the world’s largest trading power and one of the most open economies. A third of the EU’s gross domestic product depends on trade. 85 % of future global growth is forecast to come from outside Europe. The EU negotiates and agrees international trade agreements on behalf of its Member States.

What the EU does

The EU’s trade policy covers trade in goods and services, but also in matters such as the commercial aspects of intellectual property and foreign direct investment.

In February 2021, the European Commission presented a new EU trade strategy, which sets out three main objectives.

1. Supporting the recovery and transformation of the EU economy in a way that supports our green and digital ambitions.
2. Shaping global rules to ensure that they are fair and sustainable.
3. Increasing the EU’s ability to pursue its interests and enforce its rights.

At the heart of the strategy is a commitment to reforming the World Trade Organization so that it is better able to respond to the challenges of modern trade.

Trade policy can play an important role in combating climate change and environmental degradation. Therefore the EU will improve the implementation and enforcement of sustainable development chapters in its trade agreements. Specifically, the EU will propose to make respect for the Paris Climate Agreement an essential element in future trade and investment agreements.

The EU stands for open and fair trade and fights against protectionism. It strikes a balance between being open and ensuring that that people and companies are defended against unfair trade practices. With the newly appointed Chief Trade Enforcement Officer, the EU is putting a specific focus on maximising the benefits of trade agreements for companies, in particular SMEs and farmers, and on ensuring that its trade partners honour their commitments, including on sustainable development.

The EU has 46 trade agreements in force with 78 partners around the world. In 2020, the EU reached a new agreement on trade with Mexico, and its trade deal with Vietnam entered into force. In its first year, the agreement with Japan has already boosted EU exports, with almost 7 % growth in the first 10 months of the agreement.

Following the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union on 31 January 2020, the EU and the UK signed the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on 30 December 2020.

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Humanitarian aid and civil protection

The EU, together with its Member States, is the world’s leading humanitarian aid donor, providing and coordinating relief assistance to people in areas hit by disasters in Europe and around the globe.

The EU provides relief assistance to the people affected by crises. In 2017 EU aid of €2.2 billion helped more than 120 million people in over 80 countries. The EU aims to:

• save and preserve life, prevent and alleviate human suffering and safeguard the integrity and dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises;
• provide rapid response to emergencies both inside and outside the EU;
• reduce disaster risks, for example by employing strategies aimed at mitigating the consequences of climate change;
• improve disaster preparedness, for instance by developing early warning systems;
• ensure a smooth transition when an emergency operation comes to an end, by linking up with development aid strategies;
• strengthen the overall resilience of populations, for example by investing in measures to help them prepare for future disasters; and
• protect and ensure the future of children caught up in man-made or natural disasters.

What the EU does

The EU responds to crisis situations through the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), which ensures rapid and effective delivery of EU relief assistance through its two main instruments: humanitarian aid and civil protection. The EU is a leading humanitarian donor in many crises, including the following.

• Emergency relief to displaced people inside Syria and refugees in neighbouring countries.
• Humanitarian assistance to refugees and internally displaced people in Greece, Iraq, Turkey and Yemen.
• Life-saving humanitarian projects in the worst affected communities in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
• Helping communities in disaster-prone areas to better prepare and recover. Every euro spent on preparedness saves up to seven euros that would be spent in the aftermath of disasters.

The EU sends teams to help out in many crises within the EU and across the globe through its Civil Protection Mechanism, for example:

• coordinating and co-financing the transport costs of firefighting operations in Europe during a particularly intense summer fire season in 2017;
• sending expertise, teams and equipment to countries affected around the world by earthquakes (Iraq, Mexico), floods (Albania, Peru) and epidemics (Uganda, Bangladesh) in 2017;
• helping people affected by hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean in September 2017.

Foreign affairs and security policy

The EU’s foreign and security policy enables it to speak and act as one in world affairs, allowing the Member States to tackle challenges they cannot solve alone and ensuring the security and prosperity of EU citizens.

The policy is implemented by the EU’s foreign affairs chief, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (who is also a Vice-President of the Commission), and supported by the European External Action Service, the EU’s diplomatic service. The EU’s external actions are guided by the principles that inspired its own creation and development, and which it seeks to promote in the wider world, including peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

What the EU does

In 2016 the High Representative/Vice-President launched the Global Strategy for the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy to enhance stability in the European neighbourhood and beyond, boost security and defence and deal with challenges such as energy security, irregular migration, climate change and terrorism. The follow-up on security and defence has been particularly swift, with the adoption of a wide-ranging EU security and defence package in 2016 to see Europe take more responsibility for these areas. The global strategy set the following five priorities for EU action:

• the security of the EU;
• state and societal resilience;
• an integrated approach to conflicts and crises;
• cooperative regional orders; and
• global governance for the 21st century.

The EU supports countries facing conflict and crisis. It is the leading donor in the international response to the Syria crisis, with over €11 billion provided to support the Syrian people, and it continues to support international efforts to bring peace to the Middle East by supporting a two-state solution with a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel. The agreement reached in 2015 on the Iranian nuclear programme demonstrated the EU’s role in leading peace talks on behalf of the international community. In 2018 there were 16 ongoing civilian missions and military operations on three continents. Deployment decisions are made jointly by national ministers from EU countries. Success stories include EU peacekeeping missions in several of the world’s trouble spots, the training of police, soldiers and coastguards, support for state-building in post-conflict situations and fighting piracy off the Horn of Africa. The EU has no standing army, but brings together forces contributed by its Member States under the EU flag.

The European Defence Fund launched in 2017 coordinates, supplements and amplifies national investments in defence so as to increase outputs and develop defence technology and equipment to meet current and future security needs.

Justice and fundamental rights

The EU guarantees a range of fundamental rights for its citizens and protects them from discrimination, while the EU’s common justice area helps solve cross-border legal problems for both citizens and businesses.

The EU is not simply a single market for goods and services. Europeans share values that are spelled out in the EU treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which guarantee rights to EU citizens (any person who holds the nationality of an EU country is automatically also an EU citizen). The EU also makes life easier for Europeans who study, work or get married in other EU countries by building bridges between the different national legal systems across the EU. A borderless and seamless common justice area will ensure that citizens can rely on a set of rights and can access justice throughout the continent.

What the EU does

This set of rights is secured by the EU and includes the following.

• Rules preventing discrimination on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
• The right for everyone to have their personal data protected thanks to the new rules (the so-called GDPR) which entered into force in May 2018.
• The Charter of Fundamental Rights, which brings together all the personal, civic, political, economic and social rights enjoyed by people in the EU. These are guaranteed by the European Union where EU law is at stake.
• The EU’s justice and fundamental rights policies: the coordination of justice rules, minimum standards across the EU and access to justice on equal terms in all countries are key issues. For example, victims of crime have a common set of minimum rights wherever they are in the EU. This coordination also helps citizens to use their right of free movement and businesses to trade and operate throughout the EU’s single market.

The EU also strives to strengthen mutual trust between the courts and administrations of the EU Member States so they recognise each other’s judicial decisions. This is especially important in civil cases such as divorce, child custody or maintenance claims. Eurojust facilitates cooperation between national justice authorities to help fight serious crimes such as corruption, terrorism, and drug trafficking and distribution, while the European Arrest Warrant has replaced lengthy extradition procedures to return suspected or convicted criminals back to the country where they will be or have been tried. The newly-established European Public Prosecutor’s Office, due to start work in 2020, will investigate, prosecute and bring to judgment crimes against the EU budget, such as fraud, corruption or serious cross-border VAT fraud.

May 2021

Digital economy and society

The EU is determined to make the 2020s Europe’s digital decade. It is working to ensure that digital technologies work for everyone, while helping to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and securing Europe’s place as a leader in the digital economy.

Digital technologies have never been more important in our lives. During the COVID-19 crisis, they have kept people connected and businesses working, and have proved essential for education and training. They are also crucial to fighting climate change, including through smart energy and transport systems.

What the EU does

The groundwork for the digital transformation has already been laid. EU action has brought benefits such as:

• an end to additional roaming charges when people use their mobile devices when travelling in the EU;
• access to online content when traveling in the EU;
• strict EU rules on personal data protection;
• free public Wi-Fi hotspots across the EU;
• new rules to ensure better access to public websites for people with disabilities;
• action to fight fake news and online disinformation.

The EU’s proposed digital strategy will continue to work on digital solutions that benefit people, businesses and the planet. It focuses on three main objectives: technology that works for people, a fair and competitive economy and an open, democratic and sustainable society.

The European Commission has proposed a comprehensive set of rules for online platforms operating in Europe to protect the fundamental rights of citizens online, to address online harms and to foster innovation. Beyond that, the strategy also covers everything from cybersecurity and data to digital education and democracy. The proposed Digital Compass translates Europe’s goals for 2030 into concrete targets. Safeguarding EU values and people’s fundamental rights and security is a key element.

The Digital Europe programme, with over €7.5 billion in funding between 2021 and 2027, will boost investments in areas such as supercomputing, artificial intelligence and digital skills. It will also ensure wide use of digital technologies across the economy and society, including through digital innovation hubs.

Other programmes will also support the digital transition, including Horizon Europe, which focuses on research and technological development, and the digital aspects of the Connecting Europe Facility. In addition, under the NextGenerationEU recovery fund, EU countries should allocate 20 % of their financial support from the Recovery and Resilience Facility to the digital transformation.

April 2021

A safer internet

The EU has the strictest data protection and privacy rules in the world. These help ensure that the online environment is safe and fair for citizens and businesses alike and protect people, in particular children, from illegal and harmful content.

The rapid growth of online services in recent years has brought many benefits for Europeans, but also potential new risks. This is why the EU is continually working to ensure that its legislation keeps pace with the digital transformation and that what is illegal offline is also illegal online.

What the EU does

The protection of personal data and privacy are fundamental rights in the European Union. The EU has been applying high standards for data protection and privacy for decades. The law gives people rights as regards data protection and confidentiality of communications which must be respected by organisations that process their data. In response to the realities of the internet age, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives individuals enforceable rights, including the right to be forgotten.

In parallel, the EU is leading efforts to make the digital world a secure place. The cybersecurity strategy aims to strengthen Europe’s collective resilience against cyber threats and help ensure that all citizens and businesses can benefit from trustworthy and reliable services and digital tools.

The European Commission is tackling the spread of online disinformation and misinformation to ensure the protection of European values and democratic systems. Initiatives include the Action Plan and Code of Practice on Disinformation to fight fake news and disinformation; the European Democracy Action Plan and the European Digital Media Observatory.

The EU’s Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online aims to ensure that requests to remove racist and xenophobic content are dealt with speedily. Companies, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, have committed to reviewing the majority of these requests in less than 24 hours and to removing the content if necessary.

The safety of children online is paramount. The European strategy for a better internet for children has influenced national policies in most EU Member States and set a global benchmark for the protection and empowerment of children online. The EU-funded network of Safer Internet Centres helps raise awareness of online safety and foster child participation. New rules on audiovisual media services require online video-sharing platforms to take steps to restrict children’s access to harmful content, while the proposed Digital Services Act anticipates specific obligations to address significant risks to the well-being of children. The Commission has also presented an EU strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse.

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• @BetterNet4EU @safeinternetday

Migration and asylum

The EU’s common migration and asylum policy helps Europe deal with migration challenges in an effective manner.

More than 3.2 million asylum seekers have applied for international protection in the EU since 2015, many of whom were fleeing from war and terror in Syria and other troubled countries.

What the EU does

The EU has developed a common migration and asylum policy to manage the many challenges generated by migration into the EU, including of people seeking international protection. This policy includes the following actions aimed at dealing with the crisis.

The EU has dedicated over €10 billion to dealing with the refugee crisis, financing projects to address the most urgent humanitarian needs of refugees arriving on European shores. The EU also provides humanitarian aid to refugees and migrants in countries outside the EU, and supports work to address the root causes of irregular migration.

Based on a European Commission proposal, Member States agreed to relocate asylum seekers from Greece and Italy to other EU countries. The EU also wants to create safe and legal ways for asylum seekers to enter the EU. A voluntary resettlement programme agreed by Member States envisages the transfer of 22 500 people from outside the EU to an EU Member State. The EU is working to increase the rate of returns to their home country of irregular migrants with no right to stay in the EU.

The EU and Turkey agreed in March 2016 that irregular migrants and asylum seekers arriving on the Greek islands from Turkey may be returned to Turkey. For every Syrian returned to Turkey from the Greek islands after an irregular crossing, the EU will take in a Syrian from Turkey who has not sought to make this journey in an irregular way. This has led to a major decrease in irregular arrivals to the islands. The EU has made available €3 billion to address the needs of refugees hosted in Turkey.

Over 620 000 lives have been saved in the Aegean and the Mediterranean since 2015 thanks to Italian and Greek rescue operations and the work of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, established in 2016.

The Commission has proposed a deep reform of existing asylum laws in line with current and future needs. The basic principle will remain the same: people should apply for asylum in the first EU Member State they enter unless they have family elsewhere, but whenever a Member State is overwhelmed, there must be solidarity and a fair sharing of responsibility within the EU.

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Borders and security

The European Union is working towards establishing a security union, making Europe more secure by fighting terrorism and serious crime and by strengthening Europe's external borders.

The EU offers its citizens an area of freedom, security and justice without internal borders. The overall objective of a security union is to make this area a safer place. The EU and Member States cooperate to tackle terrorism and violent radicalisation, serious and organised crime and cybercrime.

What the EU does

The EU focuses its actions on supporting Member States through:

• information exchange between national law enforcement, customs agencies and border guards;
• operational cooperation, with the support of EU agencies;
• training, exchange of best practice, funding, research and innovation.

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) brings Member States together to investigate cases of serious and organised crime. The Commission is also working to ensure the different EU information systems for security, border and migration management will be ‘interoperable’, i.e. able to speak to each other.

The EU has updated and reinforced its laws, harmonising the definition of terrorist offences and criminalising terrorist travel, training and financing. With the support of the Radicalisation Awareness Network Centre of Excellence, the EU is stepping up efforts to prevent radicalisation and to address the challenge of returning terrorist fighters. Through the EU Internet Forum, the Commission is facilitating cooperation between key internet companies, law enforcement agencies and civil society to reduce access to illegal content online and provide effective alternative narratives to counter terrorist propaganda. The Commission also proposed to make it mandatory for internet companies to remove terrorist content from the web within one hour of a removal order from national authorities.

In December 2018 the European Parliament, the Council and Commission agreed on the Cybersecurity Act, which strengthens the mandate of the EU cybersecurity agency (European Union Agency for Network and Information Security) so as to better support Members States with tackling cybersecurity threats and attacks.

Thanks to the Schengen Agreement, checks at many EU internal borders have been progressively abolished. The migration crisis and the changing security landscape in recent years have demonstrated that the Schengen area needs strong external borders. In 2017 the EU adopted new rules for the external Schengen borders to reinforce checks on all people, including European citizens, against relevant databases, to make sure that they do not represent a threat to public policy or internal security. In addition, more than 1 600 European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) officers are now helping Member States’ national border guards to patrol in places like Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Spain. The Commission has proposed to further scale up the Agency by establishing a standing corps of 10 000 operational staff.

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• @EUHomeAffairs

Education and training

The EU helps improve the quality of education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and by complementing national actions. Erasmus+ provides opportunities for people of all ages and enables young people in particular to study, train, gain work experience or volunteer abroad.

Investing in education and training is the key to people’s future, particularly if they are young. According to a 2015 report, in the EU there are still more than 4.4 million early school leavers and one in four adults who have a low level of skills, which makes it difficult for them to access the labour market and to fully participate in society.

What the EU does

EU countries are responsible for their own education and training systems, but the EU helps them achieve quality education through the exchange of good practice, setting targets and benchmarks and providing funding and expertise. The EU strategy for education and training aims to meet the following objectives:

• make lifelong learning and mobility a reality;
• improve the quality and efficiency of education and training;
• promote equity, social cohesion and active citizenship; and
• enhance creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship, at all levels of education and training.

Erasmus+, the EU programme for education, training, youth and sport, helps tackle youth unemployment by boosting young people’s personal development, skills and employability. With a total budget of €14.7 billion, it will help over 4 million (mostly young) people to study, train, gain work experience or volunteer in another country. Erasmus+ boosts the job prospects and the personal development of young people by giving them the skills they need in the labour market and society, both now and in the future. The European Commission has proposed to double funding for Erasmus to €30 billion in the next long-term EU budget (2021 to 2027).

The EU has set up a number of other initiatives to make it easier for people to study, train or work abroad. European countries, trade unions and employers cooperate to improve vocational and educational training through the Copenhagen process. One result is the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training and quality assurance network, which help people work and study abroad. The Bologna process and the European Higher Education Area make it easier for people to move between education systems within Europe by promoting mutual recognition of periods of study, comparable qualifications and uniform quality standards.

The Europass set of documents helps workers apply for jobs abroad by presenting their skills and qualifications in a standard Europe-wide format, more easily understood by employers.

Youth

Through its youth policies and programmes the EU aims to make sure young people can participate fully in all areas of society and to give them more opportunities in education and the job market.

The social inclusion of young people is vital for European society and democratic life. The EU’s youth strategy promotes young people’s transitions to adulthood, health and well-being, participation in society, involvement in voluntary and solidarity activities, and employment and entrepreneurship. The EU’s youth policies also offer young people the chance to fill any gaps in their education and skills, enabling them to better adapt to challenges and contribute to positive change in society. This is particularly relevant as youth unemployment is still significantly high.

What the EU does

The EU runs several programmes and initiatives to help young people in Europe to play a more active role in society and benefit from experiencing another country. These include the following in particular.

• Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. With a budget of €14.7 billion, it provides opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to acquire knowledge and skills through experiences abroad such as study, traineeships, apprenticeships, youth exchanges, teaching, training, youth work and sport.
• The Commission emphasises the need for structured dialogue as a means of mutual communication between young people and decision-makers in order to get first-hand input from young people on policies that matter to them. Organised into 18-month cycles, each cycle of structured dialogue focuses on a specific theme and gives young people the chance to have their voices heard on this topic.
• The Erasmus for young entrepreneurs programme helps provide new or young European entrepreneurs with the skills necessary to start and run a small business.
• The European Solidarity Corps is an EU initiative aiming to provide opportunities for young people to express their solidarity by taking part in activities in their own country or abroad that benefit communities and people around Europe.
• The youth guarantee, with funding of €8.8 billion, supports youth employment by ensuring that all young people under 25 receive a good-quality, concrete offer of a job, apprenticeship, traineeship or continued education within 4 months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed.

The European Youth Portal provides information on these and other EU initiatives for young people across Europe, while EURES, the European Job Mobility Portal, also helps connect jobseekers and companies offering a job.

Culture and media

The EU works to preserve Europe’s shared cultural heritage and make it accessible to all. It supports the arts and helps our cultural and creative industries to thrive, specifically through the Creative Europe programme.

Culture and creativity are at the core of the European project and at the heart of the EU’s cultural policy. Europe’s rich cultural heritage and dynamic creative sectors bring immense enrichment, pleasure and a sense of identity to millions of people.

The EU seeks to protect cultural heritage and diversity across countries and to harness the cultural and creative industries’ contribution to the economy and society. EU policy also looks to meet common challenges such as the shift to digital production and content, or how to encourage innovation in the cultural sector. The New European Agenda for Culture contains concrete actions to harness the full potential of culture.

What the EU does

The Creative Europe programme aims to strengthen Europe’s cultural and creative sectors and provide funding for around 3 700 cultural organisations, 250 000 artists and cultural professionals, over 7 000 cinemas and 2 800 films, and 4 500 book translations during its 7-year lifespan. It is investing €1.46 billion to:

• promote European cultural and linguistic diversity;
• drive economic growth and competitiveness in the creative sectors;
• help the creative and cultural sectors make the most of digital technologies and develop new business models; and
• bring creative works to a wider audience in Europe and internationally.

Creative Europe also promotes initiatives such as EU prizes for cultural heritage, architecture, literature and music, the European Heritage Label and the European Capitals of Culture. The 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage aimed to encourage more people to discover and engage with Europe’s cultural heritage and to foster a sense of belonging to a common European space.

The Commission also coordinates policymaking, research and reporting on a range of topics, from media literacy and digital distribution to cultural heritage preservation or culture in external relations. Furthermore, it fosters cooperation and peer learning between Member States.

The EU’s audiovisual and media policy aims to ensure that, like other goods and services, audiovisual media (film, TV and video) are subject to EU-wide rules to ensure they can circulate freely and fairly in the single market, regardless of how they are delivered. The EU also supports the development and distribution of European films and other content, with the goal of promoting cultural diversity.

Sport

The EU promotes the health benefits and positive values associated with sport, supports cooperation between policymakers and dialogue with sports organisations and tackles problems such as doping, match-fixing and violence.

Sport and exercise are an integral part of life for millions of Europeans. Besides promoting better health and well-being, sport can help tackle issues such as racism, social exclusion and gender inequality. Sport also provides significant economic benefits and is an important tool in the EU’s external relations. The EU’s policy on sport is now mainly carried out through the Erasmus+ programme.

What the EU does

The EU focuses on sport as a means to keep people healthy, create communities, nurture social inclusion and promote equal opportunities.

• Erasmus+ co-funds initiatives to help develop, share and implement innovative ideas and practices to promote grassroots sport. ‘Erasmus+ Sport’ helps develop sport’s European dimension, boosting cooperation between sports organisations, public authorities and other parties.
• Sport can bridge social divides, empower people and provide opportunities to develop leadership skills. EU Member States applying for European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund grants are encouraged to include projects that promote social inclusion through sport. The #BeInclusive EU Sport Awards recognise organisations using the power of sport to increase social inclusion for disadvantaged groups.
• The European Week of Sport encourages Europeans to be active in their everyday lives.
• The European Commission encourages sport organisations to implement good governance.
• The European Commission is gradually integrating sport into bilateral agreements with countries outside the EU.

Cooperation between EU Member States on sport is agreed through a multiannual EU work plan for sport. The latest one (for the 2017-2020 period) defines three priorities: the integrity of sport, the economic dimension of sport, and sport and society. The European Commission works together with Member States and stakeholders to promote the role of sport and to find solutions to problems facing European sport.

The Eurobarometer survey on sport and physical activity shows that EU citizens are not exercising enough. The EU’s health policy promotes exercise both through the sharing of good practices between EU countries and with interested parties, and through the EU platform for action on diet, physical activity and health, which provides a forum for tackling adverse trends.

The EU physical activity guidelines (2008) and the Council recommendation on promoting health-enhancing physical activity across sectors (2013) show how national policies can encourage activity. The Tartu Call for a Healthy Lifestyle (2017) includes a list of 15 actions to promote healthy lifestyles.

Budget

The EU budget helps to deliver on the things that matter to Europeans. By pooling resources at EU level, Member States can achieve more than they could by acting alone.

The EU budget supports a wide range of policies implemented within the European Union and has helped the EU to consolidate its strong role in the international arena, as a leader in the fight against climate change and as the largest donor of humanitarian and development aid in the world.

During the economic and financial crisis, the EU budget proved to be a powerful instrument to support investment. With national budgets in many Member States under severe strain, the EU budget, and the Structural Funds in particular, emerged from the 2008 crisis as a stabilisation factor investing in growth and jobs. Most recently, the budget has also underpinned the management of the EU’s external borders and the European response to the refugee crisis and to the threat of organised crime and terrorism.

What the EU does

The EU agrees long-term budget plans that provide a stable basis for implementing the budget over a period of at least 5 years. The current EU long-term budget covers 2014-2020 and allows the EU to invest around €1 trillion over that period. In May 2018 the European Commission presented its proposal for the EU’s long-term budget from 2021 to 2027.

The annual budget is decided democratically. First the European Commission proposes a draft budget. Then the national governments (acting through the Council of the European Union) and the directly elected European Parliament approve the EU budget, usually before the beginning of the year. Some 94% of the budget is spent in the Member States, mainly on fostering jobs and growth in Europe, as well as outside the EU on development and humanitarian assistance, while only 6% is spent on EU administration.

The annual EU budget in 2019 was around €165.8 billion – a large sum in absolute terms, but only about 1% of the wealth generated by EU economies every year. About 80% of the EU budget is financed from national contributions based on gross national income and value added tax.

Following an annual recommendation by the Council, the European Parliament decides whether to give its final approval, or ‘discharge’, on the way the Commission has implemented the EU budget. This procedure ensures full accountability and transparency, and when granted, the discharge leads to the formal closure of the accounts for a given year.

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• @EU_Budget

Fraud prevention

The European Anti-Fraud Office ensures taxpayers’ money is put to the best possible use by investigating cases of fraud, corruption and illegal activities involving EU funds.

Corruption and fraud can seriously harm the economy and undermine the trust of citizens in democratic institutions and processes. Institutional corruption, however, is not the only threat. Cigarette smuggling, evasion of import duties on shoes and clothes, receiving subsidies for growing oranges on farms that do not exist – there are many examples of fraud, large and small, that can cost European taxpayers money.

To counter these threats, the European Anti-Fraud Office (also known as OLAF) investigates fraud, corruption and other illegal activities involving EU funds, along with serious misconduct by EU staff and members of the EU institutions, and helps the institutions formulate and implement policies to prevent and detect fraud. OLAF is part of the European Commission, but acts in full independence in its investigative mandate.

What the EU does

When a case of suspected corruption or fraud of EU funds is assessed and proved to be substantiated by the European Anti-Fraud Office, an investigation is launched. These investigations can involve interviews and inspection of premises. OLAF will also coordinate inspections by Member State anti-fraud agencies involved in the case.

After an investigation is concluded, OLAF recommends action to the EU institutions and national governments concerned: this usually includes launching criminal investigations, financial recoveries or other disciplinary measures. It then monitors how these recommendations are implemented.

National customs authorities carry out regular joint customs operations with OLAF (and other EU agencies) to stop smuggling and fraud in certain high-risk areas and on identified routes. For example, in 2017, joint customs operations financed by the European Anti-Fraud Office led to the seizure of 75 million cigarettes, as well as tens of thousands of other counterfeit products.

OLAF also contributes to the development, monitoring and implementation of the EU’s anti-fraud policies, working closely with the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

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3 How the European Union makes decisions and takes action

1 WHO IS WHO

The European Union is based on the rule of law. This means that every action taken by the EU is founded on treaties that have been approved voluntarily and democratically by all EU countries. The treaties are negotiated and agreed by all the EU Member States and then ratified by their parliaments or by a referendum.

The treaties lay down the objectives of the European Union and set out the rules on how the EU institutions operate, how decisions are made and the relationship between the EU and its Member States. They have been amended each time new Member States have joined the EU. From time to time they have also been amended to reform the European Union’s institutions and to give it new areas of responsibility.

The last amending treaty, the Lisbon Treaty, came into force on 1 December 2009. Earlier treaties are now incorporated into the current consolidated version, which comprises the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

More recently, the EU agreed upon the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, an intergovernmental treaty that obliges participating countries to have firm rules to guarantee balanced public budgets and strengthens the governance of the euro area.

Decision-making at EU level involves various European institutions, in particular:

• the European Parliament,
• the European Council,
• the Council of the European Union (Council), and
• the European Commission.

The advisory bodies (the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions) and national parliaments also play a role.

Generally it is the European Commission that proposes new laws and the European Parliament and the Council (also called the Council of the European Union) that adopt them. The Member States and the EU institution or institutions concerned then implement them.

The European Parliament

The European Parliament is elected by EU citizens in direct elections held every 5 years. Each Member State elects a number of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs); seats are allocated on the basis of the population of each Member State. The Parliament meets in both Brussels and Strasbourg. The current European Parliament President is David Sassoli.

MEPs organise themselves into political groups, and also into committees that examine proposals for new legislation in different policy areas.

In terms of decision-making, the Parliament is responsible for the following.

• Approving, amending or rejecting EU laws, together with the Council of the European Union, based on European Commission proposals. The Parliament also shares with the Council equal responsibility for adopting the EU budget (proposed by the European Commission).
• Deciding on international agreements.
• Deciding on enlargements of the EU.
• Electing the President of the Commission, based on a proposal from the Member States, and then approving the full Commission.
• Reviewing the Commission’s work programme and requesting that it propose legislation.

The Parliament’s work comprises two main stages.

• Committees to prepare legislation: the Parliament has 20 committees and two subcommittees, each handling a particular policy area. The committees examine proposals for legislation, and MEPs and political groups can put forward amendments or propose to reject proposed legislation. These issues are also debated within the political groups before they decide how to vote on a particular subject.
• Plenary sessions approve, amend or reject legislation: this is when all the MEPs gather in the chamber to give a final vote on the proposed legislation and the proposed amendments. These plenary sessions are normally held in Strasbourg, with any additional sessions held in Brussels.

Work in the European Parliament’s eighth term ended on 18 April 2019. In a direct vote on 23-26 May, citizens in the EU member states elected MEPs to form the new Parliament. More information on the outcome of the 2019 European Elections and the forming of the new Parliament can be found on the European Parliament's website.

The European Council

The European Council, based in Brussels, is made up of the Heads of State or Government of all of the EU Member States, the President of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The European Council brings together EU leaders to set the EU's political agenda. It represents the highest level of political cooperation between the EU Member States. The European Council takes the form of (usually quarterly) summit meetings between EU leaders, chaired by the President of the European Council. The President can also convene additional meetings to address urgent issues. In July 2019, the European Council elected Charles Michel as its President for the period from 1 December 2019 to 31 May 2022.

The European Council generally decides issues by unanimity, or by qualified majority in some cases.

The European Council:

• decides on the EU’s overall direction and political priorities, but does not pass laws;
• deals with complex or sensitive issues that cannot be resolved at lower levels of intergovernmental cooperation;
• sets the EU’s common foreign and security policy, taking into account EU strategic interests and defence implications;
• nominates and appoints candidates to certain high-profile EU-level roles, such as the President of the European Commission or the President of the European Central Bank.

On each issue, the European Council can:

• invite the European Commission to make a proposal to address it;
• pass it on to the Council of the European Union to deal with.

The Council

Together with the European Parliament, the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU. It is also known as the Council of the European Union. In the Council government ministers from each Member State meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws and to coordinate policies. The ministers have the authority to commit their governments to the actions agreed on in the meetings. The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU Member States every 6 months, and is responsible for chairing all Council meetings and setting the agendas.

The Council:

• negotiates and adopts EU laws, together with the European Parliament, based on proposals from the European Commission;
• coordinates EU countries’ policies;
• develops the EU’s foreign and security policy, based on European Council guidelines;
• concludes agreements between the EU and other countries or international organisations;
• adopts the annual EU budget jointly with the European Parliament.

The ministers who attend are those that deal with the policy being discussed. For example, environment ministers meet in the Environment Council. The ministers meet several times a year to make decisions relating to the EU, though government officials have meetings all year round to discuss the policy details.

To be agreed, decisions usually require a qualified majority, which is defined as 55% of the Member States representing at least 65% of the total EU population. However, certain topics like foreign policy and taxation require a unanimous vote (all Member States in favour) and a simple majority is required for procedural and administrative issues.

The Council is not to be confused with the Council of Europe, which is not a European Union body but an international organisation that was set up to promote democracy and protect human rights and the rule of law in Europe. It comprises 47 European countries, including the Member States of the EU.

The European Commission

The European Commission is the main institution that runs the day-to-day business of the EU. It is the only EU institution that can propose legislation (often after a request from the European Parliament or the Council), though it is the Parliament and the Council that vote on it. Most people working in the Commission are based in Brussels or Luxembourg, however there are ‘representation’ offices in all the capitals of the EU Member States.

The Commission is composed of the College of 27 Commissioners, one from each EU Member State, and including the President, Ursula von der Leyen, and Vice-Presidents.

Once the Commission President is nominated, the Council of the European Union nominates the other 26 Members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and the Members as a single body are then subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. The Commissioners are the Commission’s political leadership during a five-year term. Each Commissioner is assigned responsibility for specific policy areas by the President.

The staff of the Commission are the equivalent of the civil service in a Member State, and are organised into departments, known as directorates-general and services, similar to ministries at national level.

The decisions of the Commission are made based on the collective responsibility of the College of Commissioners. All Commissioners are equal in the decision-making process and equally accountable for these decisions. They do not have any individual decision-making powers, except when authorised in certain situations.

There are eight Vice-Presidents (including three Executive Vice-Presidents and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) who occupy these roles in addition to the usual Commissioner’s portfolio. The Vice-Presidents act on behalf of the President and coordinate work in their area of responsibility, together with several Commissioners. The political guidelines presented by President von der Leyen in July 2019 set six headline ambitions for Europe.

In general, decisions are made by consensus, but votes can also take place. In this case, decisions are made by simple majority, with every Commissioner having one vote. The relevant directorate-general then takes up the subject. This is usually done in the form of draft legislative proposals.

Consultative committees

The consultative committees (the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions) have an advisory role towards the European Parliament, Council and Commission. They provide opinions on proposed legislative acts. The European Economic and Social Committee represents organised civil society and the European Committee of the Regions represents local and regional authorities.

National parliaments

The 27 national parliaments of the Member States contribute to the good functioning of the EU by scrutinizing their governments in relation to the activities of the European Union and have a number of rights, including the right to express their concerns in relation to draft legislative acts.

National parliaments send reasoned opinions to the Commission when they see a draft legislative act breaching the principle of subsidiarity. If certain conditions are met, the Commission reviews its proposal, and explains publicly whether it will maintain, amend or withdraw its proposal.

The Commission is also in constant political dialogue with national parliaments, which send their opinions on any legislative or political initiative of the Commission or on any political subject on their own initiative.

European Central Bank and European Investment Bank

The European Central Bank is an independent institution of economic and monetary union to which all EU Member States belong. It makes its decisions without seeking or taking instructions from governments or other EU institutions. Its main purpose is to maintain monetary stability in the euro area by ensuring low and stable consumer price inflation.

The European Investment Bank is the bank of the European Union. It is owned by the Member States and its mission is to lend money for investments that support the EU’s objectives. Its focus is on increasing the EU’s jobs and growth potential and on supporting climate action and the EU’s policies beyond its borders.

European Union agencies

The work of the European Union is assisted by a number of EU agencies, which are separate legal entities set up to perform specific tasks under EU law. They work on issues and problems affecting the everyday lives of people living in the EU. They have a major impact, providing EU institutions and Member States with specialised knowledge in diverse areas, such as cybersecurity, safety of food and medicines, environmental protection, fundamental rights and border security.

2 MAKING DECISIONS

Various institutions take part in the EU’s decision-making process, with the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission at the forefront.

Usually the European Commission proposes new legal acts that are then adopted by the Parliament and the Council. On some occasions, the Council may do this alone.

To ensure that EU action meets its objectives in the most efficient way, the European Commission assesses the expected and actual impacts of policies, legislation, and other important measures. It also involves citizens and stakeholders at every stage of the policy cycle, from planning to proposal to implementation to review and subsequent revision.

To announce new legislative initiatives or planned evaluations of existing legislation, the European Commission publishes inception impact assessments or roadmaps. The potential economic, social and environmental consequences of proposed measures are analysed and reported in impact assessments that accompany legislative proposals.

And what about legislation or initiatives that are already in force? Once implemented for a sufficient period of time, initiatives are evaluated to check their performance against standard criteria. As part of this, the Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) identifies opportunities to reduce regulatory costs and simplify existing laws.

There are several types of legal acts, which are applied in different ways.

• A regulation is a law that is applicable and binding in all Member States directly. It does not need to be passed into national law by the Member States, although national laws may need to be changed to avoid conflicting with the regulation.
• A directive is a law that binds the Member States, or a group of Member States, to achieve a particular objective. Usually, directives must be transposed into national law to become effective. Significantly, a directive specifies the result to be achieved: it is up to the Member States individually to decide how this is done.
• A decision can be addressed to Member States, groups of people or even individuals. It is binding in its entirety. Decisions are used, for example, to rule on proposed mergers between companies.
• Recommendations and opinions enable the EU institutions to express a view to Member States, and in some cases to individual citizens, that is not binding and does not create any legal obligation on the person or entity addressed.

Every proposal for a new EU legal act is in accordance with a particular article of a treaty, which is called the legal basis of the proposal. This determines which legislative procedure must be followed.

The majority of laws are made following a process known as the ordinary legislative procedure.

Ordinary legislative procedure

The ordinary legislative procedure, also known as the co-decision procedure, is the most common procedure for adopting EU legislation. This places the European Parliament and the Council on an equal footing, and the laws passed using this procedure are joint acts of the Parliament and the Council. It applies to the great majority of EU legislation, covering a wide range of fields such as consumer rights, environmental protection and transport. Under the ordinary legislative procedure the Commission makes a proposal, which must be adopted by both the Parliament and the Council. On receipt of the proposal the process proceeds as follows.

The first reading

• The European Parliament debates the proposal in its committees. Any amendments to the proposal are tabled and voted on in these committees. The proposal then passes to the whole Parliament, which votes on it (and further amendments) in plenary session.
• The Council and the Member States examine the legislation in detail; most of this discussion happens in a working group of civil servants. Many issues can be resolved at this technical level, or the levels just above it, though some issues may remain to be finalised at the meetings of the relevant ministers. The Council will come to a political agreement on the legislation – this may happen before or after the Parliament votes. Once the Parliament has voted the political agreement will be converted into a formal common position. If the Council’s common position is different from the Parliament’s vote the legislation passes onto a second reading in order to resolve the differences.
• Representatives of the Parliament and the Council often meet informally to try to agree between themselves before formalising their positions. If they do agree the Council will adopt exactly the same text as the Parliament and the proposal will become law. This is called a first-reading agreement.

The second reading

• If no agreement was found at first reading, the second reading will then begin. It follows a similar pattern to the first reading, but this time with the Parliament examining, and voting on, the changes proposed by Council, and then the Council considering what the Parliament proposes. The second reading is a faster process than the first reading, as only differences between the Parliament’s and the Council’s positions can be discussed, and various elements are time limited.
• It is possible that the Parliament and the Council will agree at this stage (a second-reading agreement). If the two institutions cannot come to a common decision on the proposed legal act it is passed to a Conciliation Committee comprised of an equal number of representatives of the Parliament and the Council. This conciliation procedure has become rare. Most legal acts are adopted following the ordinary legislative procedure during the first or second reading.
• Once a final text is agreed, and all translations have been done, the legislation is passed to the Parliament and the Council again so that they can adopt it as a legal act. It will then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in the EU’s official languages. The legislation will specify when it must be implemented in the Member States, or when it comes into force in the case of a regulation.

The Commission can take Member States to court and ask for them to be fined if EU legislation is not implemented. Almost all enforcement of EU legislation occurs within the Member States. This can sometimes lead to complaints about uneven implementation of the rules in different countries. Some decisions are enforced directly at EU level, notably competition law such as antitrust cases. See Part 3 of this section Ensuring EU laws are respected for more information.

Who else is consulted?

When making decisions in a number of policy areas, the Parliament, the Council and the Commission consult the European Economic and Social Committee (of which Luca Jahier is the President).

The Parliament, the Council and the Commission must consult the European Committee of the Regions (of which Karl-Heinz Lambertz is the President) on matters of relevance to the regions.

The committees’ opinions are not binding upon the EU institutions.

In addition, other institutions and bodies may be consulted when a proposal falls within their area of interest or expertise, for example the European Central Bank for proposals concerning economic or financial matters.

National oversight

National parliaments receive draft legislative acts at the same time as the European Parliament and the Council. They can give their opinion to ensure that decisions are made at the most appropriate level. EU actions are subject to the principle of subsidiarity, which means that, except in the areas where it has exclusive powers, the EU only acts where action will be more effective at EU level than at national level. National parliaments monitor the correct application of this principle in EU decision-making and can give ‘reasoned opinions’ when they consider that the principle is not being respected.

Getting involved as a citizen

Every EU citizen has the right to submit a petition to the European Parliament in one of the official languages of the EU, in the form of a complaint or a request, on an issue that falls within the European Union’s fields of activity. Petitions are examined by Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, which makes a decision on their admissibility and is responsible for dealing with them.

Citizens can also participate directly in the development of EU policies by calling on the European Commission to make a proposal on matters on which the EU has the competence to legislate. A European Citizens’ Initiative, as this is called, has to be backed by at least 1 million EU citizens, coming from at least seven Member States. A minimum number of signatories is required in each of those seven Member States.

Citizens can share their views on Commission initiatives at key stages of the policymaking and law-making process. Through the web portal Have Your Say, citizens and stakeholders can contribute in different ways.

• The Commission first announces a new initiative or an evaluation of an existing policy or law by publishing an inception impact assessment or a roadmap. Citizens and stakeholders have 4 weeks to give feedback, which is published on the same webpage.
• When working on a new initiative or evaluation, the Commission carries out public consultations via online questionnaires open for 12 weeks.
• Once the Commission has finalised a legislative proposal and submitted it to the European Parliament and the Council, citizens have another opportunity to comment on it. The feedback period for Commission proposals is 8 weeks, after which the contributions are passed to the Parliament and the Council to be considered in their negotiations.
• Through the Lighten the load programme, citizens can give the Commission suggestions at any time on how existing laws or policies could be simplified and improved to be more effective and less burdensome.

On the Have your Say web portal, citizens can subscribe to be notified by email when new initiatives are added on topics that they are interested in or to follow developments regarding individual initiatives.

Coordinating the policies of Member States – the example of economic policy

Under economic and monetary union, the EU’s economic policy is based on close coordination of national economic policies. This coordination is carried out by the economics and finance ministers, who collectively form the Economic and Financial Affairs Council.

The Eurogroup consists of the ministers of economy and finance of the euro-area members. It acts to promote economic growth and financial stability in the euro area by coordinating economic policies.

Common foreign and security policy

The common foreign and security policy is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the EU, mainly for security and defence diplomacy and actions. Decisions require unanimity among Member States in the Council of the European Union, but once agreed, certain aspects can be further decided by qualified majority voting. The EU’s foreign policy at ministerial level is represented by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, currently Josep Borrell Fontelles, who also chairs meetings of foreign ministers.

Concluding international agreements

Each year the Council concludes (i.e. officially signs) a number of agreements between the European Union and non-EU countries, and also with international organisations. These agreements may cover broad areas such as trade, cooperation and development, or they may deal with specific subjects such as textiles, fisheries, science and technology, or transport. The Parliament’s consent is required for all international agreements in fields covered by the ordinary legislative procedure.

Approving the EU budget

The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly by the European Parliament and the Council. If the two institutions do not agree then conciliation procedures are followed until a budget is approved. See Part 4 of this section, Taking action: the EU’s budget for more information.

3 ENSURING EU LAWS ARE RESPECTED

The Court of Justice of the European Union ensures that EU legislation is interpreted and applied in the same way in each Member State. The Court has the power to settle legal disputes between Member States, EU institutions, businesses and individuals. To cope with the many thousands of cases it receives it is divided into two main bodies: the Court of Justice and the General Court.

If a private individual or a company has suffered damage as a result of action or inaction by an EU institution or its staff they can take action against them in the Court, in one of two ways:

• indirectly through national courts, which may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice;
• directly before the General Court, if a decision by an EU institution has affected them directly and individually.

If someone considers that the authorities in any country have infringed EU law they can follow the official complaints procedure.

How the Court works

Cases are processed in two stages.

• Written stage. The parties give written statements to the Court, and observations can also be submitted by national authorities, EU institutions and, sometimes, private individuals. All of this is summarised by the judge-rapporteur and then discussed at the Court’s general meeting.
• Oral stage. This is a public hearing: lawyers from both sides can put their case to the judges and the advocate general, who can question them. If the Court decides an opinion of the advocate general is necessary this is given some weeks after the hearing. The judges then deliberate and give their verdict.

The General Court procedure is similar, except that most cases are heard by three judges and there are no advocates general.

Other EU judicial institutions

The Ombudsman receives and investigates complaints and helps to identify maladministration in the EU institutions and other bodies. Any citizen, resident, association or business of an EU Member State can make a complaint to the Ombudsman.

The European Data Protection Supervisor is charged with protecting the personal information and privacy of EU citizens and residents, stored by the EU institutions in electronic, written or visual form. It also promotes good practice in this field among the EU institutions and bodies.

4 TAKING ACTION: THE EU’S BUDGET

The EU agrees long-term spending plans (known as the multiannual financial framework) which provide a stable basis for implementing the budget over a period of at least 5 years. This allows the EU to complement national budgets by funding policies with added EU value. The multiannual financial framework lays down the maximum annual amounts (ceilings) that the EU may spend in different categories of expenditure (headings). The current budget covers the 2014-2020 period and allows the EU to invest around €1 trillion over that period in the five areas of EU activities.

The EU’s annual budget is decided jointly by the Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The Parliament debates it in two successive readings, and it comes into force when it has been signed by the President of the Parliament. The Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control monitors how the budget is spent, and each year the Parliament decides whether to approve the Commission’s handling of the budget for the previous financial year.

The annual EU budget in 2019 was around €165.8 billion – a large sum in absolute terms, but only about 1% of the wealth generated by the economies of the Member States every year.

The Commission is responsible for managing and implementing the EU budget and the policies and programmes adopted by the Parliament and the Council. Most of the actual implementation and spending is done by national and local authorities but the Commission is responsible for supervising it. The Commission handles the budget under the watchful eye of the European Court of Auditors. Both institutions aim to ensure sound financial management.

Every year, following a recommendation by the Council, the European Parliament decides whether to give its final approval, or ‘discharge’, on the way the Commission has implemented the EU budget. This procedure ensures full accountability and transparency, and when granted the discharge leads to the formal closure of the accounts for a given year.

The European Court of Auditors is the independent external audit institution of the European Union. It checks that the EU’s income has been received correctly, that its expenditure has been incurred in a legal and regular manner and that financial management has been sound. It performs its tasks independently from the other EU institutions and governments.

A modern budget for an EU that protects, empowers and defends

In May 2018 the Commission presented its proposals for a modern, long-term budget for the 2021-2027 period. The proposals are a realistic response to an exceptionally challenging context: technological and demographic change, migration, climate change and scarce resources, unemployment and security threats are compounded by geopolitical instability.

The Commission has proposed to boost funding in areas where the EU can contribute most effectively. This will be done by expanding and modernising existing programmes with a proven track record, and by creating new tailor-made programmes in areas where a fresh approach is needed to help the EU deliver on its ambitions. For example:

• investing in innovation and the digital economy;
• creating training and employment opportunities for young people;
• continuing the EU’s work on a comprehensive approach to migration and border management;
• building up the EU’s capacity in security and defence;
• strengthening the EU’s external action and investing in climate action and environmental protection;
• strengthening the economic and monetary union.

See also the following pages in Section 2: Economy, finance and the euro; Banking and financial services; Taxation; Budget; and Fraud prevention.

About

The European Union – What it is and what it does

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Editorial Service & Targeted Outreach
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM

Manuscript completed in April 2021

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021

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