This week, the European Commission published its adjusted Work Program for 2020 in reaction to the Covid-19 crisis. As explained in the Communication accompanying the adjusted work program, to date, the Commission has adopted 291 decisions and other acts since the beginning of the crisis. Almost all of these were neither planned, nor were featured in the Commission Work Programme for 2020.
The adjusted Work program will prioritize the actions needed for the European Union to face the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis. If the Commission remain “determined to deliver on the commitments made in its Work Programme” in particular with regards to the green deal and the digital transition, the timing of some of the proposed actions have been reviewed. For instance the European Climate Pact has been postponed to Q4 2020 (initially Q3 2020) or the 8th Environmental Action Program postponed to Q4 2020 (initially Q2 2020).
In parallel of the adjusted work program, the European Commission published its proposal “Europe’s moment: Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation” for a major recovery plan. With this proposal the European Commission aims “To ensure the recovery is sustainable, even, inclusive and fair for all Member States.” As stated in the press release, “relaunching the economy does not mean going back to the status quo before the crisis, but bouncing forward” and to do so, the European Commission intends notably to build on the European Green Deal announced last year.