EAPN at EPC Briefing with Vice President Dombrovskis: Unfinished Business – what is needed to strengthen the EMU Governance

EAPN News

18/09/2015 –  At the EPC event today, Vice President Dombrovskis provided an update on the latest developments on deepening the EMU, implementing the 5 President’s Report. The main priorities up to 2017 were outlined as 1) implementing the macroeconomic rule through the European Semester, 2)  Financial Backstops and 2) Banking Union. The key slogan was ‘deepening by doing’ –   implementing closer macroeconomic governance through the European Semester, by focussing more clearly on Social and Economic Challenges and improving  visibility and ownership of the Semester by involving more Member States, European parliament and Social partners. Sian Jones, EAPN, intervened on 5 key elements:

EAPN at EPC Briefing with Vice President Dombrovskis: Unfinished Business – what is needed to strengthen the EMU Governance

EAPN News

18/09/2015 –  At the EPC event today, Vice President Dombrovskis provided an update on the latest developments on deepening the EMU, implementing the 5 President’s Report. The main priorities up to 2017 were outlined as 1) implementing the macroeconomic rule through the European Semester, 2)  Financial Backstops and 2) Banking Union. The key slogan was…

Semester Alliance calls on President Juncker to bring Europe 2020 back on track!

EAPN News

17/09/2015 – Yesterday, the Semester Alliance broad coalition addressed a letter to European Commission President Juncker to express its concern about the direction his Commission has taken when it adopted the Country Specific Recommendations for 2015. The letter urges him “to address this and turn the 2016 AGS into a first step towards a European Semester that is democratic, social, sustainable and inclusive“. “Using the European Semester purely as an instrument to ensure macro-economic and monetary stability will not help you bring the EU closer to its citizens”.  #semesteralliance #AGS2016

Victory for citizens, victory for the Human Right to Water!

EAPN News

08/09/2015 – With today’s vote the EP demands that the EC make concrete legislative proposals to recognize the human right to water and sanitation as defined by the UN. This victory is for the supporters of the Right to Water and also for democracy in the European Union. This vote adds support to the 1.9 million signature collected, backs up what the candidates to the Presidency of the European Commission previously agreed, and the report of the Economic and Social Committee as they all call on the Commission to act.

“The best and worst of Europe” | Civil Society calls on EU Governments to create a more welcoming Europe #weapologise

EAPN News

11/09 – Ahead of the European Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 14 September, the Social Platform, Concord and the European NGO Platform on Asylum and Migration (EPAM) addressed today a letter to the European Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs entitled “The best and worst of Europe” to call on Member State governments and ministers to create a more welcoming Europe. This letter is fully supported by EAPN and its national networks. This letter is part of the #weapologise initative that 46 civil-society organisations and networks, including EAPN and a lot of its European-Organisation members, launched by addressing an open letter to people fleeing war, persecution and poverty on 08 Sept.

EAPN supports people fleeing war, persecution & poverty in an open letter from the Social Platform #weapologise

EAPN News

08/09/2015 46 civil-society organisations and networks, including EAPN, sent an open letter to people fleeing war, persecution and poverty. on behalf of our national and European leaders for their inexcusable lack of coordinated humanitarian aid to the situation you and thousands of others are in while crossing our borders to escape war, persecution and poverty. This message #weapologise was spread out on the day of President Juncker’s State of the Union speech (08/09/2015) and ahead of the European Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 14 September. 

 

Poster title and photo

EAPN 2015 Annual Policy Conference | Can the Semester deliver on poverty and participation? #2015EAPN

EAPN News

Friday 9th October, EAPN held its annual policy conference where it presented its Assessment of the 2015 National Reform Programmes (NRPs) and European Semester, and debated together with 150 stakeholders including 80 EAPN national members, decision-makers and other stakeholders key questions: What needs to be done to ensure that the European Semester deliver on its Europe 2020 commitments to reduce poverty and promote participation? How can we help the EU move forward on a social, sustainable and democratic strategy that could give hope and restore faith in the EU?

Key speakers included Commissioner Thyssen, Outi Slotboom, DG ECFIN, Raquel Lucas, Cabinet of Commissioner Dombrovskis, Sergio Prieto, MEP & Tom Dominique, Chair of the SPC. The conference opened with a video by Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament.

Members of the EP, EESC, ETUC, and other civil society actors including people with direct experience of poverty were present. The event was hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) /SOC Section.

Semester Alliance calls on EU to ‘bring back Europe 2020” in EESC conference on the 6 July

EAPN News

06/07/2015 – The EESC Steering Committee on Europe 2020 organized a timely conference on reshaping Europe 2020, to underpin the EU’s future strategy for a more inclusive and sustainable recovery to the crisis. Mary Collins, EWL, spoke on behalf of the Semester Alliance, highlighting its recent actions to support engagement by civil society in the Semester, including 3 successful cross-sectoral pilot alliances in Denmark, Bulgaria and Ireland. Ms Collins also presented the Alliance’s assessment of the European Semester, including the country-specific recommendations 2015,  underlining concern about the disappearance of Europe 2020 from EU narrative.