In one year, the EPP turned programmatic vision into reality

At a time marked by attempts to rebuild outdated empires, when force seems to prevail over diplomacy, the question of the role Europe must play is on everyone’s mind. Addressing this concern is clearly no easy task, and today, perhaps more than ever, it requires elected officials and leaders to present not only a real vision but also concrete action plans.

A year ago, Europeans gave us a clear mandate, sending 188 EPP Group Members to the European Parliament. Since then, we have not stopped working, launching new initiatives that strengthen people’s daily lives and make the EU more capable of meeting major challenges.

The EPP is leading the Union’s efforts in the face of the current global challenges that are having real effects on our citizens. Most pressingly, democracy is under increasing threat. This is why the EPP Group contributed to delivering a European Media Freedom Act, that will protect journalists and allow them to perform their scrutinising functions independently at a time when they are facing greater risks to their lives and their livelihoods. Thanks to Daphne’s Law - officially the anti-SLAPP Directive - they are now protected from frivolous cross-border proceedings.

On the business front, regulatory simplification is one of the vital areas that alleviates strain on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), which are a pillar of our economy, and ultimately lessens the costs that are passed onto consumers. Overall, bureaucracy costs Europe €150 billion per year – an excessive burden, felt most heavily by millions of businesses, especially SMEs. The EPP Group has been fighting this battle for years, and we are finally seeing results. The Commission has introduced a major regulatory simplification initiative (Omnibus), which aims to save €6 billion in direct costs. This is not about slashing sustainability efforts. But at a time where the cost of living is putting pressure on many families and workers, our approach has to be pragmatic, to preserve the progress we have made and invest in the workforce on which we depend. We need fine-tuned tools to tackle complex problems. Some of the directives we have been debating were frankly bureaucratic monsters that risked tipping the balance of doing more harm than good to our economy.

Closely linked to simplification, setting up a framework that supports competitiveness has been one of our top priorities in the early stages of this term. To lead this long-term task, the Clean Industrial Deal is our main tool. Far from being just a semantic evolution of the Green Deal, this new programme lays the foundations for a true Copernican revolution in the EU, placing industrial competitiveness at the centre of our policies for the first time.  This much-needed transformational business plan for energy-intensive industries and the clean-tech sector provides better access to capital and affordable energy, secures critical raw materials, and accelerates permitting procedures.  We have also worked to back the automotive industry by ensuring greater flexibility in meeting the 2025–2027 emission reduction targets, avoiding harmful fines while maintaining climate ambition, and by securing a review of the combustion engine ban, now scheduled for 2025. Additionally, competitiveness and SME checks will now be systematically included in the Commission’s impact assessments for all relevant legislative proposals. Business leaders keep telling us during our meetings, “Take us into account before proposing new laws.” We have heard them.

A party of workers, the EPP Group is also the party of farmers and fishers. Ensuring good living and working conditions for those who feed us and guarantee our food security is clear thinking. Under our leadership, the Commission has finally announced concrete measures in its vision for agriculture and food, including a Generational Renewal Strategy and a better alignment between EU production standards and those applied to imports. Thanks to simplification of the CAP, small farms will get special treatment, on-site inspections will be reduced, and rules on permanent grasslands will be more flexible. Reducing the paperwork that awaits a farmer each evening after a long day of work is a step forward, long requested by professionals and the EPP Group. We are delivering on it. In the area of fisheries and aquaculture as well, new measures are being introduced, particularly to help fund the modernisation of fishing fleets, especially artisanal fisheries. These efforts are at the heart of the Ocean Pact, which we played a major role in shaping.

Strengthening Europe’s security also depends on full control of our external borders and on managing migration. Since 2015 and the unprecedented migration crisis, the EPP-led Commission has constantly proposed concrete solutions to address the urgency and consequences of this challenge. The final adoption of the Asylum and Migration Pact last year is the cornerstone of this long-term effort. Now, with the new Return Policy, we are going even further: faster and more harmonised procedures, mutual recognition of return decisions, and clearer obligations with tougher consequences. At the EPP Group, we welcome this proposal and are ready to enter tough negotiations with the other political groups in the European Parliament to finalise a text that is both firm and effective. Other proposals are in the pipeline, including the Regulation on Safe Countries of Origin and the revision of the Safe Third Country concept. Migration sovereignty requires firm solidarity between European states, and we are working on it every single day. Our actions are paying off: irregular border crossings into the European Union dropped by 20% in the first five months of 2025.

The threats that Europe is facing cannot go unaddressed. Putin’s hostility and the increasingly more weaponised economic interdependence means that we must work to become a more resilient continent for the benefit of our workers and families. It means working to make Europe more competitive, more autonomous in its energy needs, and better at fending off threats to our citizens’ security. On defence, we have taken giant steps. For the first time, under our impetus, the Commission appointed a Commissioner for Defence and presented the ReArm Europe Programme, aimed at boosting our capabilities and supporting Ukraine. In addition, we have worked to reinforce cooperation and coordination between national armies and reduce market fragmentation, which weakens us. 

This legislative mandate is a turning point. By the end of 2027, over 200 million Europeans will have voted, and many national elections will be crucial. The EU’s future truly hangs in the balance, and the real battle will not be between left and right, but between us and the extremes. The Union needs decisions. We need action. We need leadership that drives progress.

A year ago, the EPP Group made a promise: to build a Europe that is safe and secure for its citizens; that defends its borders and itself; that fosters competitiveness and cuts red tape; and that stands with its farmers and fishers to ensure healthy and affordable food. Europeans overwhelmingly backed that programme, giving us a clear mandate. In just one year, the EPP Group turned that programmatic vision step-by-step into European reality.