Activities

January 11, 2017

Health, poverty and housing: semester alliance calls on commission to address key challenges for latvia

Latvia faces major challenges in relation to healthcare and poverty, particularly as regards adequate social protection, and access to affordable housing. It suffered sharp economic decline as a result of the crisis and then further pain as austerity measures promoted by the European Commission resulted in massive cuts in public spending. Latvia is not an austerity success story and urgent and major action is needed to reduce poverty, address housing shortages and turn the ailing health system around.

The report Focus on Latvia proposes suggestions from the Semester Alliance of the kinds of Country Specific Recommendations that are needed in 2017 to begin to tackle the major challenges across these three policy areas.

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January 5, 2017

“From Challenge to Opportunity” Green Budget Europe, CEE Bankwatch and EEB present national assessment of Country Reports and proposals for CSR’s and Season’s greetings

Green Budget Europe, together with CEE-Bankwatch and the European Environmental Bureau have carried out an assessment of the 2016 European Semester Country Reports among our network of members and national experts for their country. Continue Reading

May 24, 2016

EAPN’s initial response to Country-Specific Recommendations | More CSRs on poverty but austerity still dominant

EAPN-Hands-off-social-rights-EAPN-c-Rebecca-Lee-15

Brussels, 23 May 2016 – On 18 May, the European Commission published the 2016 Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) proposals. EAPN welcomes the increased number of CSRs with a focus on ‘poverty reduction and social inclusion’ from 6 (2015) to 11 Member States (BG, CZ, ES, HR, HU, IE, IT, LV, PT, RO, SK), underpinned by Commissioner Thyssen’s statement in the CSR Press Release “this year’s recommendations have a strong focus on social and employment issues. Only by ensuring that social considerations are better integrated in all EU policy areas we will truly achieve a Social Europe.”

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March 1, 2016

The AGS behind, the Semester ahead | Great success for the Semester Alliance Hearing in the EP

IMG_1290On 1 March 2016 – (9.30-12.30), Sergio Gutierrez Prieto (S&D) and Marian Harkin (ALDE), with the EU Alliance for a democratic, social and sustainable European Semester, hosted a very well-attended hearing The AGS behind, the Semester ahead, what proposals to make Europe 2020 more social, democratic and sustainable?  in the European Parliament. The Alliance presented its proposals on the AGS 2016 and its report on the Country-specific Recommendations with concrete key messages.

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January 19, 2016

EU Semester Alliance holds 2nd dialogue meeting with DG ECFIN

On 8th January 2016, the EU Semester Alliance held a 2nd stakeholder dialogue meeting with key representatives from the EU institutions: Roy Dickinson, Adviser to the Director on Policy, strategy and co-ordination, DG Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN, European Commission). The exchange with ECFIN focussed on 3 key issues: What could be done by the EU to ensure that quality civil society engagement was promoted at all stages in the European Semester; a first discussion on the Annual Growth Survey 2016, and how progress could be made on a more social and sustainable EU. Continue Reading

December 15, 2015

Is Europe doing enough to invest in children? 2015 Eurochild Report on the European Semester

15/12/2015 – Eurochild carried out the assessment of the 2015 European Semester with the help of its member organisations. The work draws on the experience of the past four years’ (2011 – 2014) analysis of the National Reform Programmes (NRPs) of EU Member States, with an extended scope this year. In this year’s analysis we particularly assess the extent to which the European Commission ‘Recommendation on Investing in Children: Breaking the cycle of disadvantage’ (2013) has been implemented across the EU and whether the European Semester process is helping or hindering the achievement of positive outcomes for children.

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