- Every five years, the EU institutions set the priorities for the corresponding institutional cycle.
What is the European Union’s Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 and what are its pillars?
The Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 is the European Union’s plan for the institutional cycle corresponding to that period of time, which constitutes the ‘common commitment to serve citizens unequivocally and to fulfil our founding objective of peace and prosperity’.
This strategic document has three pillars in which the EU advocates the construction of a Europe that is not only freer and more democratic, but also stronger and safer, as well as more competitive and prosperous.
But how are these priorities defined?
How are the EU’s priorities set?
Since the European Union was officially established in 1993 – although also previously with the organisations that preceded it – it has had to face different challenges and obstacles, for which it has had to set a series of priorities.
Who sets the priorities?
Just as important as knowing how the EU’s priorities are set is knowing who is responsible for this.
Before the start of each legislative term, according to the institution’s own website, the heads of state or government of the 27 member states meet in the European Council – one of the main institutions of the EU – to set the official political priorities for the next five years.
These priorities, taken together, form the Strategic Agenda and help to guide the institutions and establish how to fulfil them, with both the EU bodies themselves and the governments collaborating in their implementation.
The Strategic Agenda also guides the Commission’s priorities for its five-year term, broadly determining the Commission’s policies and measures.
Once the candidate for the presidency of the Commission has set the priorities – in this article you can learn more about how EU leaders are chosen – these are presented in plenary session to the European Parliament as a whole and then become specific mission statements for each candidate commissioner – one per country – and are presented to the relevant EP committees.
After further procedures, the work programme is adopted and the Commission, Parliament and Council issue a joint statement on the EU’s priorities for the following year, enabling swift action and ensuring that political attention is given to these priorities.
Finally, with a view to enabling longer-term planning, the three institutions adopt joint annual statements on legislative priorities for the following year (during the five-year term).
Telefónica and the 2026 Work Programme
A recent article on our blog entitled ‘Europe’s moment: the European Commission’s 2026 Work Programme’ refers to the priorities for next year.
It specifies that for the telecommunications sector, ‘the roadmap opens up opportunities to position Europe as a competitive and autonomous global leader’.
It also positions connectivity ‘as a strategic asset’ and considers that ‘operators are ready to drive a more prosperous, secure and digitally advanced Europe, supporting growth, defence preparedness and the EU’s ambitions in industry, the economy and well-being’.
The document highlights the initiatives of the 2026 Work Programme, which ‘will shape the regulatory framework for the digital and telecommunications sector, with a strong focus on innovation, technological leadership and competition, driving cutting-edge technologies’.
Similarly, it notes that ‘key areas include cloud computing, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, as well as measures to ensure fairness in digital markets and streamline public procurement.’
Similarly, it is worth noting that ‘key areas include cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum technologies, as well as measures to ensure fairness in digital markets and streamline public procurement.’
