- Promoting and defending the rule of law is one of the main objectives of the first pillar: a free and democratic Europe.
- Ensuring that people are free, secure and aware of their freedom and security is one of the premises of the second pillar: a strong and secure Europe.
- Long-term competitiveness and economic and social improvement are some of the most relevant issues of the third pillar: a prosperous and competitive Europe.
What is the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029?
The Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 is the European Union’s plan setting out the priorities for the institutional cycle for this five-year period.
This institutional cycle coincides with the term of office resulting from the elections to the European Parliament, one of the main institutions of the EU.
The Union’s institutional cycles also coincide with the election of certain officials, such as the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the College of Commissioners, with a total of 27 members: one per Member State.
What are the three pillars of the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029?
There are three pillars in this document, with the aim of making Europe more sovereign and better equipped to face the challenges it may encounter.
A free and democratic Europe
The defence of values such as promoting and defending the rule of law, protecting pluralism and freedom, maintaining democratic dialogue and working towards a reformed and more inclusive multilateral system are some of the points for achieving a free and democratic Europe.
It also advocates supporting the United Nations Charter, a document considered to be the origin of the UN.
A strong and secure Europe
As explained on the website of the Council of the European Union, ‘in a world that is now more conflictual, transactional and uncertain, the EU must be able to adapt and assert its aspirations and its role as a global strategic actor’.
Therefore, ‘Europe must be a place where people are free, secure and aware of their freedom and security’.
Among other issues, the 2024-2029 Agenda advocates strengthening preparedness, resilience and the capacity to prevent crises and to be able to respond and protect both citizens and societies as a whole in the face of different crises.
A prosperous and competitive Europe
The third pillar concerns strengthening long-term competitiveness and economic and social improvement, including improving purchasing power, creating good jobs and ensuring the quality of goods and services.
For this pillar, the EU has the following priorities: a broader single market, improving capacity in key technologies of the future, undertaking the green and digital transitions, and European investment in revolutionary digital technologies.
Telefónica and the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029
Under the slogan ‘Sustainable by design, innovative in digital’, Telefónica’s position on the EU’s Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 supports the construction of a future in which both environmental commitment and technological excellence define not only the economic but also the social prosperity of the EU.
This document emphasises the idea that Europe ‘faces a significant gap in innovation, development and adoption of cross-cutting technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, industrial robotics and cybersecurity, and in advanced technology (deep tech) fields such as quantum computing and green technologies, compared to the United States and China’.
In fact, ‘the EU’s share of global ICT market revenue has fallen dramatically over the last decade: from 21.8% in 2013 to 11.3% in 2022, while the US share has increased from 26.8% to 36%.’
Faced with situations such as this, the operator ‘calls’ for a more competitive EU based on four pillars: promoting an environment that allows companies to grow and compete, strengthening the telecommunications sector as a pillar of competitiveness, driving the digital and green transition for competitiveness that is ‘digital through innovation, green in its design’ and managing the geopolitical transition for a stronger EU on the international stage.
