2020 European Chronicles

The 2020 European Chronicles open with a short summary of the major political, economic and institutional events of the year, as the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the completion of Brexit and of the consequent trade agreement between the European Union and UK. Then, the main developments of the European integration process are analysed. Such developments are examined through the conclusions adopted by the meetings of the European Council, as well through the main EU legislative acts and actions. The Chronicles then provide a synthesis of the most relevant institutional and legal novelties, the relationships between citizens and EU institutions, and the main evolutions in the economic and monetary union. In the central part of the text, they present the developments in the regulatory functions (internal market, electronic communications, competition, State aids, social policy, health and consumer protection, environmental protection), which have been remarkable in 2020, and those concerning the distributive functions (common agriculture policy, research and technology, education and culture) as well as the EU financial programming and budget. Finally, the developments in the area of freedom, security and justice, in the external relations of the Union and the and in the field of the common foreign and security policy are examined.