four hands holding four mechanic wheels to the skySocial Platform has published its analysis of the 2020 cycle of the European Semester and its recommendations for the 2021 cycle. Social Platform sees the European Semester process as a key tool to support the full and ambitious implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to ensure Europe’s social recovery from this crisis.

Ten key recommendations are outlined in the document:

  • Strike a proper balance between sustainable economic growth that must be inclusive and benefit all equally, the twin green and digital transition that must be achieved without leaving more people behind and the wellbeing of its people in line with the European Commission’s objective to create an economy that works for people within planetary boundaries;
  • Improve the inclusion of groups in vulnerable situations that have been disproportionately affected by the crisis in the Semester process, especially in the country-specific recommendations;
  • Continue ensuring the right level of investments to enable the social reforms needed for Europe’s social recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, for the duration of the pandemic and ensure building a social Europe in the years to come;
  • Continue reflections on establishing a longer Semester cycle to improve its impact;
  • Improve the design of the various stages of the process and the related documents to ensure that policies appear consistently throughout all the documents of a cycle, without creating thematic contradictions;
  • Improve the implementation rate of reform recommendations to increase the impact of the process on national policy-making;
  • Ensure that the European Semester process is a key tool to support the full and ambitious implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to ensure Europe’s social recovery from this crisis;
  • Ensure that key political frameworks, like the European Pillar of Social Rights and the SDGs are coherently mainstreamed through the European Semester process;
  • Make the European Semester process an integral tool to achieving the objectives of a coherent comprehensive and ambitious social and sustainable long-term strategy;
  • Improve the involvement of various stakeholders in the European Semester process, including national parliaments, social partners and civil society organisations.

 

For more details, please read the full text of the report.

For more information on our work related to the European Semester, please visit our thematic page.