The latest edition of the European Semester Quarterly in 2017 (7th issue) comes out amid the busy Autumn period. During this time the 2017 European Semester is coming to an end and preparations start for the next round. This edition analyses the recent State of the  State of the European Union address by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to the European Parliament, as well  the Annual Growth Survey.

At this time of year it is pertinent to look back and analyse what has changed during the last year with regard to the European Semester, which recommendations from the Commission have been implemented at national level and what still needs to be done. Eurodiaconia recently sent a letter with some recommendations to Vice President Dombrovskis in charge of the European Semester.

This edition also sheds light on how the European Semester can play a role in monitoring whether the national economic and social policies support the SDGs or whether further reforms are needed to achieve the SDG goals set by the United Nations in 2015. It reflects on how the European Semester can potentially be a powerful tool to push Member States to make significant progress on the SDGs throughout the coming years and up to 2030. For our network, many of the SDGs concern issues on which Eurodiaconia members work on a daily basis. Poverty, education, health and housing are only a few of them. National governments have a political commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and therefore using them in your advocacy work can be a powerful tool.

The European Semester Quarterly continues to inform our members and partners about the European Semester cycle and related topics, as well as how these issues have a serious impact on poverty and social exclusion policies.

We hope that the latest edition will give all those reading it some inspiration for further advocacy work!