In their annual meeting that took place in September, the members of ESN’s Reference Group on the European Semester met to discuss their review of the European Commission’s country reports and provide input for our annual report, that was published late October 2016 (see the 2016 report here). The report features a comprehensive cross-country analysis, drafted by our partners, the European Social Observatory (OSE), 25 country profiles and alternative recommendations that our members would like the European Commission to address to their countries in the 2016-2017 EU Semester process.
The European Semester 2017 report is avalible to view here.
About ESN’s Reference Group
Introduced in 2011, the European Semester is the yearly cycle of economic and social policy coordination between the EU and its Member States. In the past years, ESN has worked with up to 25 members and contributors (one per country except Malta, Luxembourg and Slovakia). The aim has been to bring social services to the forefront of the European Semester, often accused of focussing on economic and fiscal issues.
Resources
- Involving local authorities and social services in EU policy-making (ESN news)
- The Social Rights Pillar – a unique opportunity to shape a more social Europe for the future? (ESN news)
- Social protection, housing and deinstitutionalisation – key issues in 2015 (ESN news)
- ESN latest report, the 2016 'Connecting Europe with local communities - Social services priorities for the European Semester 2017'
- ESN report Looking ahead: Local public social services priorities for the European Semester 2016
- Assessing social policy priorities for the European Semester 2017 – An opportunity to improve local ownership?
- Dedicated project page in the Members' area of the ESN website with all the resources and materials. (only for ESN members)