EAPN REACTION TO THE 2025 EUROPEAN SEMESTER AUTUMN PACKAGE
From a European Semester to a Social Semester: Aligning the European Semester with the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy.
INTRODUCTION
2025 is a pivotal year for social rights, and particularly, the fight against poverty. For the first time, the EU will adopt an Anti-Poverty Strategy, as announced in the European Commission political guidelines 2024-20291. Additionally, key frameworks such as the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan and the EU equality strategies will be renewed, paving the way for more ambitious and comprehensive measures to address poverty and social exclusion. The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2027 is also starting to be discussed by EU institutions, with key implications on the priorities of the EU for the next years.
This year also marks the first implementation cycle of the new Economic Governance Framework, which entered into force on 30 April 2024. The European Semester is one of the components of this framework, alongside the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP), the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the Banking Union & Financial Supervision.
