The European Commission has published its 2025 Work Programme, focussing on delivering what it calls a “bolder, simpler, faster Union”.

Top of the agenda is the EU’s commitment to simplify its rules, stating that “by forging strong partnerships with businesses and stakeholders, [it] will examine the design and application of [its] legislation to streamline regulations and implement policies more effectively”.

The ‘implementation and simplification agenda’ will be delivered through a series of Omnibus proposals which will simplify various pieces of legislation in a number of ‘priority sectors’. In particular, the Commission states that it will propose streamlining and simplifying “sustainability reporting, sustainability due diligence and taxonomy, and create a new category of small mid-caps with adapted requirements”. In all, it is hoped that these measures, combined with other initiatives, will reduce administrative burdens for SMEs by at least 35%, and by at least 25% for larger organisations.

The Work Programme also sets out the Commission’s desire to accelerate its path to a digital regulatory environment by, among other things, removing “inefficient requirements for paper formats in product legislation” and building “synergies and consistency for data protection and cybersecurity rules”.

Competition is also a central theme of the Work Programme as it states that “structural issues continue to impede Europe’s competitiveness, as businesses face a volatile global environment characterised by unfair competition, fragile supply chains, rising energy costs, labour and skills shortages and limited access to capital”.

Citing the recent publication of its Competitiveness Compass (which we discussed here), the Commission declares that enhancing Europe’s competitiveness is a top priority, and that the single market will be a central part of that mission. It states that the Single Market Strategy will “present a new horizontal strategy for a modernised single market. It will set a clear path towards further facilitating the cross-border provision of services and goods. The strategy will also look at the full implementation of existing rules and at the elimination of barriers to boost the potential of competitive EU businesses”.

The Commission will also focus on start-ups and scale-ups, addressing matters such as access to finance and infrastructure, entering new markets, obtaining data, and attracting talent. It promises an ‘Innovation Act’ which will “support innovative companies to invest and operate in the single market without facing 27 distinct legal regimes”. A 28^th legal regime will “simplify appliable rules and reduce the cost of failure, including any relevant aspects of corporate law, insolvency, labour, and tax law”.

On digital infrastructure and AI, the Commission points to the ‘Digital Networks Act’ that will “create opportunities for cross-border network operation and service provision, enhance industry competitiveness and improve spectrum coordination“, as well as the ‘Cloud and AI Development Act’ which will support improved access to data. The AI Continent Action Plan also promises to boost competitive AI ecosystems in Europe, whilst the EU Quantum Strategy will usher in a ‘Quantum Act’.

As one would expect, the Work Programme covers a wide range of other commitments, from defence and security planning, to agricultural and energy policy, to civic society initiatives. Commenting on its publication, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said, “citizens and businesses have called for a simpler EU that delivers prosperity. This work programme is our answer. We’ve heard you, we’re simplifying, and we will deliver. This roadmap charts our course to a more competitive, resilient, and growth-oriented Europe”.

To read the Work Programme in full, click here.