It is EU-Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker's last priorities programme before passing the mantle on to his successor.
50% of the EU commission initiatives that have been put on the table over the course of the last 5 years have been voted on. 25% are in the final stages, only needing the EU parliament's and the EU council's approval. The ten priorities that were presented by the commission at the beginning of the legislative period have been given the green light, the president of the foreign affairs committee Marc Angel announced.
For 2019, there are no new legislative proposals, but there are 15 other proposals revolving around the future of Europe.
According to Marc Angel, the multiannual financial framework, which presents the budget for 7 years, is clearly the most crucial bit. However, he also states that there are constantly new challenges for Europe. European heads of government keep emphasizing that Europe needs to do more, but are rarely actually willing to contribute more financially, he continues. Our government, Angel states, has said that we have to contribute more money, otherwise it cannot take on new responsibilities.
The committee for foreign affairs will also closely follow Brexit, its consequences on the common market, and of course how decisions are made in Europe. In that respect, president Juncker has proposed a qualified majority voting system, which should also apply to certain aspects of welfare and tax policies, says Angel. In Luxembourg's case tax policy might be a more complicated issue he adds, but it is definitely something that must be discussed.
The president of the committee says that Luxembourg especially needs to think about the issues that have so far been classified as sensible and Luxembourgish MPs need to consult with Brussels in order to optimise the working relationship.
