How does the EU strategic agenda fare from a sustainability perspective?

The Council’s strategic agenda for 2024-2029 reflects a political shift putting the accent on the  industrial revolution, with environmental priorities now subsumed under broader competitiveness goals. Despite this pivot, the Green Deal will have to endure to meet the EU’s legally binding climate targets. The green transition will continue in three manners: the necessary implementation of the initiatives adopted under  the previous mandate, the so long-awaited green and fair transformation of the agri-food value chain and finally ensuring the success of the industrial transformation by securing critical materials and forging mutually beneficial strategic partnerships.

Going forward, Europe Jacques Delors will focus on these key issues to ensure that the sustainability objectives remain a priority in EU decision-making. In addition, we will continue to point to the remaining “blind spots” in the political priorities. For instance, a significant omission in the EU’s strategic agenda is the lack of a comprehensive ocean protection plan. Despite the critical importance of healthy oceans, the focus remains limited to fisheries. Several civil society organisations, including us, therefore advocate for a European Commissioner for the Ocean. Europe needs such a position to ensure a dedicated approach to marine ecosystem protection and the promotion of a sustainable blue economy.

The EU’s strategic agenda is a typical compromise document among heads of states and governments. That means that one needs to carefully read the strategic agenda to interpret potential conflict points and also actively look for what’s not included in the text. In view of the past year’s backlash on climate policy and the changed (geo)political context, it was clear that the Green Deal would not remain as top priority in the strategic agenda. Instead, sustainability was subsumed under the economic chapter.

This focus on competitiveness, supply chains and industrial policy is understandable to ensure that Europe keeps its position as an economic powerhouse and its competitive edge in the green transition. However, climate and environmental policy should not become mere footnotes of EU policymaking in the future, as a sustainably economy in the EU can only be an economy that works within the planetary boundaries. This will require a holistic approach to decision-making, inspired by Jacques Delors’ approach of bringing together the economic, social and environmental dimensions.

The Council’s Strategic Agenda underscores trade as a pivotal tool for boosting European competitiveness. The text seeks to balance calls for open trade, market access, and a level playing field with the imperative to defend EU interests, reduce harmful dependencies, and combat unfair trade practices. While these objectives can go hand in hand, there is also potential for conflicts and contradictions between promoting trade openness and the more defensive undertones in the strategy.

Despite the increased focus on competitiveness and defensive interests, EU leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to pursue an EU trade policy that is sustainable, which stands out as a key achievement and seems to imply a continuation of the green trade agenda initiated in the last EU cycle. Going forward, leaders must bear in mind that a sustainable trade policy is one that is balanced, ambitious, and cooperative, while minimising unintended adverse impacts on the EU’s most vulnerable trading partners. 

The European Council’s strategic agenda put food security at the heart of the bloc’s agricultural policy and focused on enhancing the competitiveness and resilience along the value chain. This marks a shift away from sustainability aspects of the agri-food sector, which was prioritised in 2019 in order to build a climate-neutral Europe.

However, this mandate‘s strategic agenda still recognises the importance of having a sustainable agricultural sector and “to protect nature and reverse the degradation of ecosystems”. This suggests that EU leaders are not advocating for a complete reversal of the current approach to agrifood policy, but instead plan to create synergies between sustainability and food security to promote a green transition that delivers a more competitive and resilient farming landscape in Europe.

There has been talk in Brussels about a potential portfolio separation between fisheries and the environment in the upcoming College of Commissioners. This division is particularly worrisome as it could undermine strategies to better integrate marine conservation into EU policymaking. Such a cohesive and integrated approach is particularly important. This has been demonstrated by the historical success of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and its ecosystem-based approach. A separated Commission structure may lead to fragmented policies, insufficient protection measures, and weakened enforcement, ultimately threatening the delicate balance of the Ocean's ecosystems.

To ensure the long-term sustainability of the marine ecosystems and the stewardship of the European Union in ocean protection, the EU should rebalance its strategic priorities and include a more integrated and prominent focus on ocean health than what the strategic agenda promises.

On its coastline, the EU has the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the world, covering 25 million km², almost six times its land area. In addition, 41% of the EU population lives within 50km of the coast. Yet, the new strategic agenda mentions the word ‘ocean’ only once. It appears as a commitment by the European Council to reverse the degradation of marine ecosystems, which is of course a positive signal. However, it also highlights the lack of an EU integrated vision for the Ocean, not yet recognised as the multi-faceted solution provider it has the potential to become. With the right approach, a vibrant sustainable blue economy and a revamped EU governance unfolding a new geostrategic approach could strongly support a more sustainable, competitive and powerful EU.