The Commission work programme for 2027 tells Europe more through what it removes than through what it adds. Adopted on 4 November 2026, it lists 23 new initiatives against 19 pending proposals to be withdrawn and 14 existing acts to be repealed.
That ratio marks a shift in how the von der Leyen Commission defines competitiveness. Fewer rules, faster permits and lighter reporting now carry the political weight once reserved for new legislation.
What the Commission work programme adds
Ten of the 23 new initiatives in the Commission work programme list simplification as a key objective. The targeted areas include banking, transport, digital markets, housing and permitting for major projects.
Several items stand out. A digital transformation package covering simplification and copyright is planned for the second quarter of 2027, alongside a housing simplification package. A proposal to accelerate permitting for large projects follows in the third quarter, as does a review of the Birds and Habitats Directives.
The Commission also promises a blueprint for industrial artificial intelligence in five sectors: health, transport, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, and defence and space. A Digital Fitness Check will examine whether the EU’s growing digital rulebook still fits together.
Withdrawals that reshape the rulebook
The withdrawal list in the Commission work programme carries real policy consequences. The Green Claims Directive, the Financial Data Access Regulation and the 2018 proposal on a corporate tax for significant digital presence are among the files the Commission intends to drop.
Each withdrawal ends a debate that had stalled in the Council or Parliament. Removing them clears negotiating space, yet it also signals that consumer protection against greenwashing and open finance will advance, if at all, through narrower instruments.
The repeal figure matters even more. Last year’s programme proposed repealing a single act; this one proposes 14. Repeal changes the stock of law that businesses face, whereas withdrawal only affects proposals that never took effect.
Can simplification deliver measurable competitiveness gains
The Commission counts twelve omnibus packages so far and estimates savings above €22 billion a year, including €7.7 billion for small and medium-sized enterprises. Those estimates depend on co-legislators adopting the packages quickly and without adding new obligations.
The accompanying annual report on simplification and enforcement points to a tension. It records 874 infringement cases, the highest in a decade, and 61 referrals to the Court of Justice. Member states, in other words, struggle to apply the rules they already have.
A planned pact against gold-plating, one of the more practical items in the Commission work programme, targets that problem directly. Gold-plating occurs when national governments add requirements on top of EU directives during transposition, eroding the single market the simplification agenda is meant to strengthen.
The political test in Parliament and Council
The Commission now presents the programme to Parliament’s plenary and to the General Affairs Council. The three institutions then negotiate a joint declaration on legislative priorities, anchored in the One Europe, One Market roadmap.
That declaration will show whether the co-legislators accept the deregulatory tilt. The Commission work programme can propose, but only Parliament and the Council can turn withdrawals and repeals into settled law. Parliament’s groups remain divided on environmental reviews, particularly the reopening of nature directives, while several capitals resist faster permitting that limits local objections.
Key takeaways
The Commission work programme for 2027 is the clearest statement yet that Brussels measures success by subtraction. Its credibility now rests on three factors: whether withdrawals stick, whether repeals pass, and whether national governments stop rebuilding the burdens that the EU removes.
