by Xinhua writer Sun Yi
BRUSSELS, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) witnessed a new leadership in 2014, as the new Commission headed by Jean-Claude Juncker took office in November and new European Council President Donald Tusk assumed his post in December.
Under a circumstance of near stagnation economy, Tusk underlined Europe needs "ruthless determination to end the economy crisis". Meanwhile, Juncker pledged a "new start" for Europe, as he proposed to renew the EU on the basis of an agenda for jobs, growth, fairness and democratic change, and unveiled a 315-billion-euro (about 385 billion U.S. dollars) investment plan.
NEW FEATURE OF COMMISSION STRUCTURE
To strengthen the internal coordination, the Juncker commission was composed featuring several specific structure designs.
The Juncker Commission is composed of the College of Commissioners of 28 members, including the President and Vice-Presidents.
In the Juncker Commission, there are six Vice-Presidents in addition to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who is at the same time a Vice-President of the Commission. The First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who acts as the right-hand of the President, is at the heart of the Commission's work.
The Vice-Presidents are in charge of a number of well-defined priority projects, including growth, digital single market, energy union and monetary union.
The setting allowed for "much stronger cooperation across areas of responsibility, with several Commissioners working closely together with the Vice-Presidents," according to a press released issued by the European Commission.
"The clustering of commissioners around seven project teams, each headed by a vice-president, promises to improve internal coordination, policy-making and transparency of rule-making and to reduce the personalisation of porfolios," said a special report released by the Brussels-based think-tank Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).
EFFORTS ON DIGITAL, ENERGY, MONETARY UNION
Moreover, efforts to build up digital union, energy union and deepen monetary union is highlighted in the Juncker Commission's agenda.
"I intend to take, within the first six months of my mandate, ambitious legislative steps towards a connected digital single market," said Juncker in his political guidelines, noting that by creating a connected digital single market, the EU can generate up to 250 billion euros of additional growth in Europe in the course of the five-year commission office.
Juncker pledged to swiftly conclude negotiations on common European data protection rules, add more ambition to the ongoing reform of telecoms rules, modernize copyright rules in the light of the digital revolution and changed consumer behavior, and modernize and simplify consumer rules for online and digital purchases.
"Enhancing the use of digital technologies and online services should become a horizontal policy, covering all sectors of the economy and of the public sector," he said.
Juncker also wanted to reform and reorganize Europe's energy policy into a new European Energy Union, as current geopolitical events forcefully reminded the bloc that Europe relies too heavily on fuel and gas imports.
"We need to pool our resources, combine our infrastructures and unite our negotiating power vis-a-vis third countries. We need to diversify our energy sources, and reduce the high energy dependency of several of our Member States," he said.
According to Junker, during his term, he wanted to continue with the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union to preserve the stability of the single currency and to enhance the convergence of economic, fiscal and labor market policies between the member states that share the single currency.
"The stability of our single currency and the solidity of public finances are as important to me as social fairness in implementing necessary structural reforms," he said.
TO BUILD COMMON VISION FOR FOREIGN POLICY
According to an article titled "A New Ambition for Europe: A Memo to the European Union Foreign Policy Chief", which was released by the think-tank Carnegie Europe, EU foreign policy starts at home. An economically strong and politically coherent EU would be a more credible international actor.
Due to the Ukraine crisis, to deal with the relationship with Russia stood as a challenge for the EU, while several rounds of sanctions against Russia in 2014 did not lead to the final solution of the regional indifference.
As a matter of fact, member states' respective concerns over Russia and some other issues had impacts on the efficiency and acts concerning EU's foreign policy. For example, in September, a further package of EU sanctions against Russia was formally approved through written procedure. However, the sanction did not enter into force until days of discussion among member states.
"If we do not stand united, among Europeans and on the two sides of the Atlantic, this is going to be our weakness and Russia's strength," said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in this regard.
Actually, when Mogherini addressing the hearing at the European Parliament as a candidate commissioner before she took office, she called on the EU to build common vision, noting that "it is too late when we get to a table to agree a text. It is too late when we get to react to a crisis that is already in place."
The Carnegie Europe article held that although the combined resources of the EU and its member states are impressive -- the world's leading economy, highest development spending, and second-highest defense expenditure -- the union cannot act like other major powers. What is more, the EU's international credibility has been greatly damaged by its stuttering response to the economic crisis.
It suggested that strengthening governance, in particular through state and institution building, should be a key foreign policy objective for the EU.
