The European Commission today presented its Work Programme for 2025 in the European Parliament. The PES will continue to fight for its progressive agenda that puts people at the centre but remains concerned by the danger of a shift towards conservative policies, the risk of a rising far-right influence, and less attention to the environment.
PES President Stefan Löfven said:
“Key points of the progressive agenda are reflected in the Commission’s work programme thanks to the work of our leaders, of the S&D group, and of our commissioners. It is a concrete follow up of the clear commitments we made in our PES manifesto for the European elections. We are fighting to keep an EU that puts people at the centre, protects workers, protects rights and protects the environment.
We commend the continued efforts to transition to a clean decarbonised industry, the inclusion of the action plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the union of skills. We support the measures to protect our democracies from foreign interference, something that the PES Presidency demanded in its recent declaration. In these fights, we are comforted by the presence of our PES Commissioners Teresa Ribera, Roxana Mînzatu, Dan Jørgensen, and Glenn Micallef. They will play a key role in strengthening European competitiveness, in advancing industrial decarbonisation and clean technology deployment, driving energy costs down and creating quality jobs for all.
At the same time, from a progressive perspective, this work programme is lacking in some key respects. As we work to reinforce European competitiveness, we will fight against any attempts at dismantling our social and environmental protection under the guise of simplification. For us, the drive to support European economies must be based on quality jobs, social protection, and environmental responsibility.
At a time when gender equality and women’s rights are under attack, we would have wanted to see a stronger equality agenda. We are missing decisive action to regulate financial markets. And we also remain committed to a balanced, fair, and productive agenda on migration. We will remain vigilant against any shift towards the rhetoric of the far-right.
Progressives will stay alert on the implementation of the work programme. We will not step back an inch from our stand on protecting European citizens and the rule of law, defending our socioecological model, providing better jobs, investing in people, and advancing on the Green Deal.”
PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck said:
“We need guarantees that the values of the European Project will be safeguarded in this mandate. Actions must be taken to both protect our democracy and citizens’ rights from the threat of the far-right and populists on the inside and from foreign interference in our democratic processes from the outside. The “Democracy Shield” announced in the work programme can be a step in a good direction but it needs further explanation, swift planning, and execution as we approach several key elections in Europe. At the same time, in the face of new threats to our democracies, we want to see a full and decisive implementation of the tools already at our disposal, including the Digital Services Act, the Digital Media Act or the A.I. act.”
In line with the declarations agreed upon during the PES presidency meeting in January and in the Genval declaration by the S&D group, co-signed by the PES, we remain committed to protecting our democracies, our citizens, and our planet.
