On the 7th of March, the European Commission published its 2018 Country Reports, analysing the social and economic policies of EU Member States.

Country Reports are an integral part of  the European Semester cycle, as they monitor progress made on social and economic issues in each Member State. The package includes one Country Report per Member State, as well as a Communication, which provides an overview of the general state of the EU’s economy by summarizing the 28 reports. The single Country Reports are working documents which assess the state of health of each national economy through an in-depth analysis. Together, these documents provide a foundation for the Country Specific Recommendations, which will be issued by the Commission to national governments in May.

In her speech the Commissioner Thyssen describes this year’s European Semester as a “landmark”, as from now on it will also monitor the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. According to Mrs Thyssen “the country specific reports have never been so social“.

Eurodiaconia members are best placed to assess whether she is right or if important social issues of their countries have been overlooked. Therefore, we strongly encourage all our member organisations to carefully read your country reports and share your assessment of it with the Eurodiaconia Secretariat. Furthermore, you can use the country reports in you national advocacy and encourage your national ministries to engage in a social reform process in order to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Eurodiaconia will soon launch a new update, the European Semester Compass with specific information on the European Semester process and tips and tricks on how to engage and use it for your advocacy. Please sign up here to receive the European Semester Compass.

To find out more about the social and economic situation of your country, check all 2018 Country Reports.

If you want to learn more about the European Semester process, have a look at our European Semester Toolkit.