Debate: European Semester for economic policy coordination  - European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for
Date: WEDNESDAY, 13 MARCH 2024
Speaker: Dragoş Pîslaru
Country: Spain
Language: EN

This year in particular, the report on the European Semester was written in the context of the review of the EU economic governance mechanism, and we tackled many challenges in this mandate and we made innovative steps in terms of European financial instruments. Therefore it was only a question of time before adapting the economic governance to the new realities. The same has to happen with the European Semester. The report that I am presenting I am presenting on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, and I want to thank very much my colleagues. We really acted as a team this mandate. We delivered for our citizens, and together with the Commission and the Council, we set important steps in order to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights. We are not there yet. A lot of many things to do, but let us go first on how to understand the current challenges in the context of the Semester. First, how the uncertain economic outlook influences the cost of living, how the ongoing geopolitical conflicts are exacerbating poverty and social exclusion, how the green and digital transition can have a significant impact on the environment, economy and the people. How demographic trends such as ageing and brain-drain magnify disparities and contribute to skills and labour shortages. So this is the context that we are talking about. Second, the Semester can help through concrete and specific recommendations, and it is clear that we need the modernisation of several aspects of the labour market, as we have right now skill mismatches, labour market shortages, as well as great potentials and risks of the twin transition. Therefore the European Semester should look more specifically at innovation, in up-to-date monitoring, the data of the labour market and supply and demand for skills, creation of good quality jobs and implementation of retention strategies – as these are the best way to attract a skilled workforce, improving access to quality employment in society – especially for those groups at high risk of poverty and social exclusion, and further EU action to protect workers and ensure a decent level of income and the need for technical support – in particular for SMEs and start-ups – for training and recruitment of new skilled and qualified employees in line with national policies and capacities. Third, the Semester needs and we are talking about adapted financial instruments, and how can we ensure that all these recommendations can be put into practice if we don’t have the increased funding that we have been advocating for, dedicated to social objectives and promotion of future-oriented investments. It is necessary that all financial instruments at all levels must become less fragmented in their management, less bureaucratic and more blended and bundled. It is time to think about the introduction of social conditionality in the allocation rules of EU funds, as part of the Financial Regulation covering the EU general budget, and also the possibility to design more flexible individual adjustment paths for Member States, allowing them the fiscal space to undertake social investments and reforms needed for socially fair, green and digital transition. And last but not least, we need a democratic, a more democratic, accountable, transparent European Semester. We welcome the social convergence framework, an early warning system used for the first time in the 2024 multilateral surveillance procedure. And this can encourage the correction of risk related to social convergence. We need to fully integrate the framework into the Semester process from 2025. I will conclude with a final call for the future: we need a bigger role for the European Parliament in the European Semester. We launched the possibility to create a special working group in the European Parliament that should ensure dialogue with representatives of Member States, regional and local authorities, as well as stakeholders who should be also essential actors in the European process.