EAPN has been monitoring the European Semester cycle for more than a decade. We indeed believe that, with adequate objectives and priorities, the European Semester has the potential to contribute to the EU and national efforts to address poverty and social exclusion, by for instance promoting social investments, fairer tax and revenue collection, adequate wages and minimum income schemes, and inclusive green and digital transitions.
However, the exact opposite happens. As outlined in our previous analysis3, competitiveness and growth remain the main focuses of the European Semester cycle, contributing to weakening efforts to address poverty and social exclusion.
This year did not see any changes. Our present analysis of the Autumn Package, which marks the first step of the 2025 European Semester cycle, shows the ever-growing clash with the headline targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), making it even more challenging to have a concrete impact against poverty and social exclusion. By placing competitiveness, fiscal discipline, macroeconomic stability, and productivity growth above social investment, the Autumn Package neglects the urgent challenges faced by millions of citizens in the EU.