A policy cycle 2.0 for the European Commission 

Complexity and uncertainty have become the context of policymaking. It is time to rethink the EU policy cycle to ensure it is future-fit to achieve long-term cross-cutting goals while reacting quickly to the challenges of a world in polycrisis.

Following co-creative policy labs with policymakers from the European Commission, several EU member states and EU consultative bodies, this publication takes stock of the challenges and solutions discussed and reflects on several additions and adjustments to the policy cycle in regular and in crisis environments.

In this paper, we make proposals for adjusting the policymaking process to better mitigate trade-offs across policy areas and between time horizons and to achieve the EU's goals for a green and just transition: 

1. Horizontal collaboration: institutionalise the Joint Research Centre's EU Policy Labs early in the policy planning stage.  This would allow to discuss cross-cutting politically sensitive issues with a wide range of DGs and better identify who should be further involved in the next steps of the process.
2. Participation: create a Standing Citizen Panel (SCP) of European citizens serving one-year term to provide public input on these sensitive files. Such regular and structured dialogue would ensure that external feedback from citizens is connected to the policy design.
3. Impact Assessments (IA): develop a framework to better embed foresight methods in IA notably by better defining the concept of the long term and ensuring consistency of application across domains.
4. Political leadership: create an Executive Vice President for Future Generations to safeguard the previous proposals and long term thinking.

In the current polycrisis landscape, we suggest retaining specific safeguards in the policy cycle that complement existing EU crisis mechanisms along the same axes: 

• Horizontal collaboration: through more upstream coordination; a prioritisation of challenges requiring intensive cross-sectoral coordination; and more integrated planning processes.
• Participation: use the Standing Citizens Panel as a rapid response tool for public consultation in times of crisis.
• Rapid Impact Assessments: create a fast-track process depending on the urgency of the policy file and its potential spillover effects.

Through these proposals, we intend to advance the policy cycle process a step further by making it more dynamic and agile. Our aim is that this policy cycle 2.0 will help identify trade-offs sooner, reducing latter points of contention and work in Interservice Consultations and policy revisions.