EESC: Annual ESG Conference 2024
24 September
Strengthening the European Semester to support reforms and investment in Member States in order to enhance competitive sustainability and growth
24/09/2024
This page is also available in: FR
Online event, Brussels, Belgium
With the revision of the EU economic governance framework, which is built around the European Semester, the latter has also been adapted and strengthened in its coordination of the economic, budgetary, employment and social policies of the Member States. From 2024, national medium-term fiscal structural plans will replace the former national reform programmes and stability/convergence programmes. These plans, which have to be submitted by 20 September, should detail the reforms and investment that countries intend to adopt in order to strengthen sustainable growth, and should address the main challenges (digital, green and social) identified in the context of the European Semester (and in particular the country-specific recommendations). The EESC sees a number of opportunities in this review and calls in particular for greater transparency in the Semester, for appropriate involvement of organised civil society (social partners and civil society organisations) and for proper monitoring of the implementation of medium-term fiscal structural plans.
Further socialisation of the European Semester
It seems essential that the European Semester evolves to better integrate foresight, consider political trade-offs and take into account environmental and social risks when formulating macroeconomic recommendations. More specifically with regard to strengthening the social dimension of the European Semester, the EESC is recommending to further consolidate the monitoring of the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in the Semester.
The EESC welcomes the integration of a Social Convergence Framework into the European Semester with the 2024 Spring Package. This analytical tool provides added value by analysing and giving greater visibility to the overall risks and challenges linked to social convergence in the European Union. The question remains now how to ensure its effectiveness on the ground in strengthening social convergence, and that organised civil society be consulted on the social investments and reforms to be put in place in the Member States. EU funding rules could be made more flexible in order to support meeting the EU’s social targets. If our ambitious and quantifiable social targets are set, and if they are linked to a mechanism similar to the Recovery and Resilience Facility – which provides both sticks and carrots to encourage Member States to implement reforms and investments to achieve common goals – this could be a powerful tool for achieving upward convergence in the EU.
Integrate the monitoring of internal territorial imbalances into the European Semester and strengthen regional, national and European competitiveness
The EU’s competitiveness is intrinsically linked to a further push to upward economic and social convergence, within and between EU’s Member States. Within a Member State the performance of all regions it is an important aspect of the country’s competitiveness. Therefore, it is essential that reforms and investments promote upward convergence, helping less competitive regions to improve their performance and catch up, while ensuring that the most competitive regions continue to prosper.
In this regard, Cohesion policy also aims to support the convergence process, which enables the less developed EU countries and regions to catch up with the more developed ones. In addition, Cohesion Policy, under the 2021–2027 framework, has encouraged the strengthening of links between investments and reforms through favourable conditions, and alignment with the European Semester. Closer coordination has also been established between the European Semester and Cohesion Policy investments. While the European Semester focuses on national reforms, the strengthening of the territorial and social dimension in the Semester since 2018 has increased its role in guiding Member States to exploit the economic potential of their entire territory and reduce inequalities. Indeed, the investment-related country-specific recommendations have guided the 2021–2027 Cohesion Policy programmes and the use of the Just Transition Fund. The 2024 recommendations will therefore have a key role in the mid-term review and adjustments of programmes in 2025, by placing greater emphasis on regional specificities and challenges. In a context where substantial disparities persist across EU regions in several respects, tackling the structural obstacles to development requires targeted policy measures at the sub-national level. The European Semester process, which has identified these obstacles in many cases, can play an important role in reducing these disparities. In recent years, the European Semester has highlighted the disparities that remain across regions, often identifying structural factors that prevent convergence. Addressing such factors and taking account of the sub-national dimension in the European Semester is instrumental in reducing such disparities.
Indeed, in his report published in April 2024, Enrico Letta proposes integrating the monitoring of internal territorial imbalances into the European Semester. In order to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable approach to addressing internal territorial imbalances, it is crucial to engage in regular monitoring of these disparities. This monitoring must be integrated into the European Semester. The strategic integration of territorial considerations into the Semester would not only enhance the effectiveness of EU cohesion policy, but also reinforce the commitment to achieving equitable growth across all Member States.
To this end, the EESC’s European Semester Group is bringing together speakers from the EU institutions, organised civil society, the Member States and research institutes for its annual conference on “Strengthening the European Semester to support reform and investment in the Member States in order to enhance sustainability and growth”, to be held from 09.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday 24 September 2024.
Agenda
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