Farmers should be able to focus on growing food with less red tape and entrepreneurs should be free to concentrate on innovating, not filling in forms, the EU’s Economy Commissioner has said.

Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has been laying out the European Commission’s programme for the coming year.

The programme promises fewer new laws and clearing the path to what he calls a simpler, more competitive Europe.

"Spending less time time filling in forms, and more time focused on innovation and expansion," Commissioner Dombrovskis said.

"The start-up that no longer needs compliance department to bring its ideas to market and the farmer who faces fewer inspections and can get on with the job of growing Europe's food."

Today, the European Commission adopted its 2027 work programme, setting out its main legislative and non-legislative initiatives for the year ahead.

It is accompanied by the 2026 annual overview report on simplification, implementation and enforcement, taking stock of progress towards simpler EU rules and more effective results on the ground.

Among the key aims for the 2027 programme are "promoting sustainable prosperity and competitiveness".

The commission has said it will take coordinated action to address high energy prices, strengthen its economy and further eliminate barriers to the single market.

The commission will create a European Corporation on Critical Raw Materials.

It will also table proposals to complete the Savings and Investments Union, including the venture capital framework reform and the bank competitiveness and simplification package.

It will tap the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) by proposing a blueprint for AI in health, transport, agri-food, manufacturing and defence and space.

To ensure that technologies serve both people and EU competitiveness, the commission said it will propose a digital transformation package.