Perspectives for the EU’s strategic priorities in 2019 – a new design for sustainable growth

This publication is an outlook review by officials at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. It is intended as a basis for the new strategic priorities of the European Union and for the work programme to be agreed for the next European Commission (to be appointed in November 2019).

It is imperative that the EU makes the right choices in 2019 by setting an ambitious policy agenda for growth. The new growth agenda should be geared towards enhancing the EU’s competitiveness in the global context, creating an economically, environmentally and socially strong Europe and taking a modern, forward-looking policy approach to the digital era.

Finland's upcoming EU Presidency in July 2019 is an opportunity to become actively engaged in the debate on the future of the EU. This paper discusses the EU’s future strategic priorities from a growth and competitiveness perspective and sets out the building blocks that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment considers crucial for a new design for sustainable growth in the EU for the next five years.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment stresses that, in relation to the growth and competitiveness of the EU, the following policy areas are particularly relevant and should be taken forward: the single market interlinked with a dynamic digital economy; the external dimension of the EU’s competitiveness; reskilling and upskilling for digital Europe; and the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Contact person at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment: Janne Känkänen, Head of International Affairs, Tel. +358 295 064 200