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…
08/01/2016 – Shetland’s Scalloway has become the first hotel in Scotland to become an accredited Living Wage employer. The hotel which is based 6 miles from Lerwick employs eighteen staff, all which received a pay increase as a result of becoming accredited.
18/12/2015 – EAPN Ireland, one of the 5 EAPN national pilot projects on Europe 2020 and the European Semester, has just issued its Briefing on Poverty, 2015, and proposals for 2016-2021.This paper gives an overview of poverty in Ireland today and makes proposals to political parties who wish to make a serious impact on poverty…
SEMESTER ALLIANCE ISSUES ITS JOINT POSITION ON COUNTRY-SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS 2015 17/12/2015 – Ahead of the EU Council endorsement of the 2015 Country-Specific Recommendations, the EU Semester Alliance addressed 7 key messages on the political substance and the democratic governance of the CSR process to Heads of State and top EU officials. In their response, the…
14/12/2015 – Today, the Commission adopted a Communication on the contribution of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) to the EU’s growth strategy, the Investment Plan and the Commission’s priorities over the next decade. The report also includes the outcomes of the negotiations with all the Member States on Partnership Agreements and programmes…
24/11/2015 – More than one in four children in Europe are at risk of poverty and social exclusion, which will have repercussions for them throughout life. On Tuesday 24 November MEPs adopted a resolution urging EU countries to boost their efforts to combat child poverty and social inequalities. The text was adopted with 569 in…
09/12/2015 – MEPs and parliamentarians from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries discussed migration, human rights and refugees during the 30th EU-ACP parliamentary assembly in Brussels on Tuesday 8 December. Most agreed that the roots of migration, such as poverty, war and a lack of human right,s need to be addressed while some also warned that…
14/12/2015 – Tax evasion costs the EU €1 trillion a year in lost tax revenue, according to the European Commission. The Lux leaks scandal showed that EU countries sometimes court multinationals with advantageous tax schemes. These practices were investigated by the Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings. MEPs adopted its report last month and on…
19/11/2015 – When discovering there was no help, no support nor advice for her and her son, Robbie, victim of a serious attack in Greece that left him with lifelong brain injuries, Maggie Hughes decided to take on the fight for the rights of victims. This fight led her from a helpless situation in 2008…
18/11/2015 – The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), together with the Luxembourg Presidency, the European Parliament and the Commission, organised a high-level conference on the Transatlantic Trade, Investment and Partnership Agreement (TTIP) that the United States and Europe have been negotiating for nearly two and half years. Participants called for more transparency, better involvement…