Civil society proposals for a smart, sustainable and inclusive recovery
(Tuesday 14 May) Getting alternative proposals for Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) in the European Semester. The 2013 European Semester is currently in full swing, especially according to the European Commission.
Member States are currently submitting their national reform programmes and their stability or convergence programmes and the Commission receives and then assesses them. The national documents were uploaded here as they arrived. The results of the Commission assessment will be presented very soon, on the 29 May together with proposals for country specific recommendations, CSRs to be endorsed by the European Council.
However - civil society NGO groups, like the European Women’s Lobby - have grave concerns about the CSRs that will be proposed by the European Commission, and believe that as we enter our fifth year of austerity measures, that there is another way. Together, the coalition advocates for policy improvement in employment, poverty, education, tax, environmental change and gender equality. Steps are urgently needed to restore the balance between social and sustainable objectives and economic governance, if the EU is to revive trust in its Europe 2020 promises of a smart, sustainable and inclusive recovery based on democratic accountability and engagement.
“European governance mechanisms need to move beyond enforcing budgetary and financial stability and re-connect to the lives of real women, men, girls and boys across Europe. Member States must be accountable to the broader social and sustainable goals embedded in the Europe 2020 Strategy”, says Mary Collins, of the European Women’s Lobby, on behalf of the coalition. “Country-Specific Recommendations have a key role to play and the input of citizens across Europe is crucial to ensure smart, sustainable and inclusive recovery”.
The ad-hoc coalition, comprised of the European Anti-poverty Network (EAPN), Caritas Europa, Green Budget Europe, European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD),Eurodiaconia, Eurochild, and AGE have produced a joint document providing alternative CSRs. It is available in PDF form here.
