2020 was a tough year, dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impact on health and economy across the globe. Now it is time for a reset.
To bring you up to speed with what is coming up in EU policy this year, EURACTIV’s news team has put together a series of lookaheads for the most important issues in various policy areas, from economy and foreign affairs to energy, digital, and transport.
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2021: The end of the beginning
A collective sigh of relief greeted the Christmas Eve agreement on a post-Brexit free trade deal. After months of criticism over his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson won the media plaudits for ‘getting Brexit done’. For the EU, it put an end to years of frustrating and time-consuming talks with its awkward former member.
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2021: Another decisive year for Europe’s climate ambitions
Climate policy will again take centre stage in 2021, with the European Commission expected to table a mammoth package of green laws in June, before the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow caps off a year packed with milestones for European climate policy in December.
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2021: Build back to the future
The EU will double down on its efforts to use the Covid-19 crisis to accelerate the ‘Green’ and digital transitions, fuelled by its €1.95 trillion stimulus, an intense policy agenda and new trade opportunities to improve its global standing.
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2021: A new European digital generation
Since the pandemic started last year, European citizens have had to radically realign their lives to the new reality. For the most part, this has meant rapidly migrating our personal and professional lives online. With this comes a broad range of policy measures aimed at reinforcing Europe’s connectivity and heightening cybersecurity standards across 2021.
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EU enlargement in 2021: Moribund or revenant?
In the Western Balkans, where all EU applicant countries (bar Turkey) are located, the year ahead will be dominated by Europe's quest for a vaccine and efforts to restart the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.