The European Commission has recently published its 2016 Annual Growth Survey (AGS), which launches the European Semester process. The 16-page AGS presents the three axes along which the European Commission intends to work in 2016, in line with the priorities already announced in 2014 by the Commission’s President, Jean-Claude Juncker, in his Political Guidelines (support jobs and growth through investment, reinforce economic governance and strengthen social fairness).

These are:  

     - Re-launching investment
     - Pursuing structural reforms for the modernisation of European economies
     - Continuation of “responsible fiscal policies”.

These are also in line with the report Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union, also known as the Five Presidents report.

Social investment

The communication re-asserts the notion of social investment, with the idea that it will eventually bring “economic and social returns”. We welcome the broader definition of the term adopted in the communication to include “healthcare, childcare, housing support and rehabilitation services”, though it specifies that this should be done with a view to engage people in the labour market. The social dimension is mostly seen in relation to employment. Job creation is emphasised as the focus of structural reforms, which is understandable in a context in which long-term unemployment accounted for 49.5% of total unemployment in 2014 (latest Eurostat data available).

Social inclusion beyond employability

However, in ESN we feel that there is a need to develop broader social inclusion strategies along the lines of the concept of social sustainability, meaning that public services should be supported to find people jobs but also to enhance people’s overall quality of life – be it to help people with disabilities or mental health issues to live independently, making sure older people live in dignity and receive adequate care or supporting the better provision of childcare services. In fact, social welfare spending accounts for more than a fifth of subnational public expenditure so social welfare is a key policy area for promoting economic and social development. At a time of demographic ageing and increasing demand for services in the aftermath of the crisis, there is an ever increasing need to untap the potential of the social care sector for job creation and growth, which in turn will help relieve carers’ burdens and support independent living for all.

Fiscal consolidation

The communication states that thanks to fiscal consolidation there has been a reduction in the number of countries under an excessive deficit procedure. However, it omits to state that fiscal austerity has also had detrimental economic and social impact across a number of countries, as ESN has documented in the past.

ESN’s report on the 2015 European Semester, Looking ahead revealed that a high price has been paid by instituting austerity too deep and too fast to social services in countries like Portugal, Italy or Spain. Nonetheless, it is promising to see that the Commission recognises the importance of “preserving productive public investment”. We hope that this investment will also include child care and protection, community care, and services supporting the active participation of people in their communities.

EU 2020

As for the EU 2020, the AGS acknowledges that whilst on track to reach the targets on climate change, energy and education, the situation in Europe regarding poverty and social exclusion has worsened because of the crisis. While we agree that the crisis has had dramatic social consequences, some of the decisions taken without a lack of social impact assessments have also contributed to exacerbate the situation (see ESN’s report on the European Semester 2014).

Looking ahead

As the Commission states in the 2016 AGS, bringing recovery to a sustainable path and promote convergence can only be achieved if the EU and Member States act together, and with the close involvement of stakeholders at national level, including regional and local authorities. If this recovery is to be inclusive, there is a case for the involvement of local public social services, who are responsible for long-term care, rehabilitation and childcare, which are mentioned as priority areas in the AGS.

The role of public social services, their contribution to the implementation of the European Commission’s Country-specific Recommendations, but also their general lack of involvement, were highlighted and analysed by the European Social Network in its recent report Looking ahead: priorities for the European Semester 2016.