Employment and social aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2013

Each year since 2012, as part of its consultative role in the new European system of economic governance, Parliament has adopted a report on the European Semester, which sets the Union's economic, social and budgetary priorities for the coming year, in line with the EU 2020 Strategy.

The deliberations on the roughly six-month European Semester lay the basis for sets of country-specific economic policy recommendations issued by the Commission to each Member State.

These recommendations cover the state of public finances, reforms of pension systems and measures designed to create jobs and fight unemployment.

The Greens believe that the European Semester is a very useful tool for achieving the EU 2020 goals on employment, poverty, climate change, and education.

However, we also feel that the political process is too remote from citizens, civil society and social partners.

The main objectives we set for 2013 entailed aligning wages with productivity in close cooperation with social partners.

We wanted the legislation to include better indicators to provide a more accurate measure of key social parameters.

We also believe that the Member States should publicly state exactly how they intend to create new jobs.

Likewise, we feel that in this time of crisis Member States should be given more time to balance their budgets, so that the recession is not aggravated by more cuts. We also want combating poverty to be a priority.

The greatest success of the 2013 edition of the European Semester report was that, although drafted by the EPP, it drew extensively on the 2012 report written by the Greens, who set the standard for the annual contribution to the Annual Growth Survey by the Committee on Employment.

Accordingly, Parliament's policy requests in the 2013 report are balanced and include a number of Green proposals.