European Commission Publishes Adjusted 2020 Work Program

The European Commission has published an adjusted 2020 Work Program to reflect the unexpected challenges arising from COVID-19. The Commission still intends to deliver on the commitments made under its original Work Program, published in January 2020, but has adjusted the timing of certain actions necessary to achieve its objectives. An update on the delivery and expected timing of the objectives under the adjusted Work Program are set out in an amended version of Annex 1 on the Commission’s website.
 
The Commission has prioritized those elements of the plan which are essential or support the immediate recovery, including the Strategy for Smart Sector Integration, the Digital Services Act and the White Paper on an Instrument on Foreign Subsidies. The Commission also intends to focus on those aspects of the Work Program that will facilitate the ability of the EU to deal with the pandemic going forward. As a result, the Commission’s intended communication on Better Regulation has been delayed from Q2 2020 to Q4 2020, but will still be published this year. The publication of the Commission’s Annual Strategic Foresight Report has been delayed from Q2 2020 to Q3 2020, but when published will take account of the impact of COVID-19 on major trends and policy responses and will pay particular attention to the need for the EU and Member States to build resilience towards present and future systemic shocks. Many of the initiatives of most relevance to the financial services sector are expected to be delivered in accordance with the original timeline, including the digital finance strategy items, the review of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation and the review of the Benchmark Regulation, all of which are still due by Q3 2020. However, the Action Plan on the Capital Markets Union has been delayed from Q3 to Q4 2020, and the review of the Capital Requirements legislation has been delayed from Q2 to Q4 2020. The Commission also intends to expand public consultations and feedback opportunities for 2020 and early 2021 initiatives and to extend consultation response periods by an additional six weeks.
 
View the Commission's adjusted 2020 Work Program.
 
View details of the Commission's original 2020 Work Program.
 
Details of other regulatory responses to COVID-19 are available on our COVID-19 Research Center.
 
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