1. Silvia Borelli University of Ferrara

2. » 3 priorities - The Europe 2020 strategy is about delivering growth that is: smart, through more effective investments in education, research and innovation; sustainable, thanks to a decisive move towards a low- carbon economy; and inclusive, with a strong emphasis on job creation and poverty reduction.smartsustainableinclusive » 5 targets 1. Employment : 75% of the 20-64 year-olds to be employed 2. R&D : 3% of the EU's GDP to be invested in R&D 3. Climate change and energy sustainability : greenhouse gas emissions 20% (or even 30%, if the conditions are right) lower than 1990; 20% of energy from renewables ; 20% increase in energy efficiency 4. Education : Reducing the rates of early school leaving below 10%; at least 40% of 30-34–year-olds completing third level education 5. Fighting poverty and social exclusion : at least 20 million fewer people in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion

3. » 7 Flagship Initiatives 7 Flagship Initiatives Digital agenda for Europe Innovation Union Youth on the moveYouth on the move aims … to facilitate the entry of young people into the labour market Resource efficient Europe An industrial policy for the globalisation era An agenda for new skills and jobsAn agenda for new skills and jobs aims to modernise labour markets and empower people by developing their skills and improving flexibility and security in the working environment; to help workers seek employment across the EU more easily in order to better match labour supply and demand. European platform against povertyEuropean platform against poverty aims to ensure social and territorial cohesion by helping the poor and socially excluded to get market and become active members of society.

5. Since Spring 2011, the European Semester has combined within a single annual policy coordination cycle two distinct governance and coordination mechanisms: the macroeconomic surveillance process and the employment and social policy coordination. The two processes are grounded on very different regulatory frameworks and are based on different methods of coordination: the macroeconomic coordination mechanism is largely grounded on hard treaty-based regulations; while the employment policy coordination mechanism is based on a soft coordination mechanism (“Open Method of Coordination”).

6. » “Six-Pack" Regulation (EU) No 1173/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the effective enforcement of budgetary surveillance in the euro area Regulation (EU) No 1174/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on enforcement measures to correct excessive macroeconomic imbalances in the euro area Regulation (EU) No 1175/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 on the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances Council Regulation (EU) No 1177/2011 of 8 November 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 on speeding up and clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure Council Directive 2011/85/EU of 8 November 2011 on requirements for budgetary frameworks of the Member States

7. Six Pack Entered into force on 13 December 2011. It applies to 28 MS with some specific rules for euro-zone Member States. It strengthens the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), reinforcing both the preventive and the corrective arm of the Pact, i.e. the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). It introduces reverse qualified majority voting (RQMV) for most sanctions (RQMV implies that a recommendation or a proposal of the Commission is considered adopted in the Council unless a qualified majority of Member States votes against it).

8. Reg. 1174 and 1176 set up the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/economic_governance /macroeconomic_imbalance_procedure/index_en.htm

9. Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure: » aims to identify imbalances in Member States’ economies much earlier than before. » monitors national economies in detail and alerts the EU institutions to potential problems ahead. » uses a scoreboard that tracks changes in 11 economic indicators, such as labour costs. » Each November, the Commission publishes the results in the Alert Mechanism Report. The report identifies Member States that require further analysis (an in-depth review).

10. » If the Commission concludes that excessive imbalances exist in a Member State (for example, wage rises that are not in line with productivity increases ), it may recommend to the Council that the Member State draw up a corrective action plan. This recommendation is adopted by the Council. » The Commission and Council monitor the Member State throughout the year to check whether the policies in the corrective action plan are being implemented.

11. » if the Commission repeatedly concludes that a euro area Member State's corrective action plan is unsatisfactory, it can propose that the Council levy a fine of 0.1% of GDP a year. » Penalties can also be levied if Member States fail to take action based on the plan (starting with an interest-bearing deposit of 0.1% of GDP, which can be converted to a fine if there is repeated non- compliance). » The sanctions are approved unless a qualified majority of Member States overturn them.

12. » Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance Entered into force on 1 January 2013. Intergovernmental agreement (no involvement of European Parliament) signed by 25 EU Member States (all but UK and Czech Republic). TSCG is binding for all euro-zone Member States, while other contracting parties will be bound once they adopt the euro or earlier if they wish. It requires contracting parties to respect/ensure convergence towards the country-specific medium-term objective (MTO), as defined in the SGP. Budget rules shall be implemented in national law through provisions of "binding force and permanent character, preferably constitutional“ (in Italy: L. Cost. 1/2012). European Court of Justice may impose financial sanction (0.1% of GDP – for Italy: 390 Million €) if a country does not properly implement the new budget rules in national law.

13. The State shall balance revenue and expenditure in its budget, taking account of the adverse and favourable phases of the economic cycle. No recourse shall be made to borrowing except for the purpose of taking account of the effects of the economic cycle or, subject to authorisation by the two Houses approved by an absolute majority vote of their Members, in exceptional circumstances.

14. » “Two-Pack" Entered into force on 30 May 2013 Regulation on common provisions for monitoring and assessing draft budgetary plans and ensuring the correction of excessive deficit of the Member States in the euro area. Regulation on the strengthening of economic and budgetary surveillance of Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability in the euro area. Applicable to euro-area Member States only. Euro-area Member States shall submit their draft budgetary plan for the following year to the Commission and the Eurogroup before 15 October. If the Commission assesses that the draft budgetary plan shows serious non-compliance with the SGP, the Commission can require a revised draft budgetary plan.

15. November The Annual Growth Survey (AGS) sets out overall economic priorities for the EU and provides Member States with policy guidance for the following year. It starts the European Semester. The Alert Mechanism Report (AMR) screens Member States for economic imbalances. Based on a scoreboard of indicators, the AMR identifies the Member States that require further analysis, in the form of in-depth reviews, in order to detect potential imbalances and ascertain their nature. The Commission publishes its opinions on draft budget plans. December Euro area Member States adopt final annual budgets, taking into account the Commission's advice and finance ministers' opinions.

16. February/March The European Council adopts economic priorities for the EU, based on the AGS. The Commission publishes a Country Report for each Member State analysing Member States' economic and social policies. It includes in-depth reviews of Member States with potential imbalances (those identified in the AMR). The in-depth review confirms or refutes the existence of imbalances and whether they are excessive or not. Member States are requested to take the findings of the in-depth review into account in their reform plans for the following year. April Member States submit their Stability/Convergence Programmes and their National Reform Programmes.

17. May The Commission proposes country-specific recommendations (CSRs), tailored policy advice to Member States based on the priorities identified in the AGS and information from the plans received in April. The CSRs (adopted on the basis of Articles 121 and 148 TFEU) relate to four broad policy areas: public finances; the financial sector; structural reforms; employment and social policies. June/July The European Council endorses the CSRs, and EU ministers meeting in the Council discuss them. EU finance ministers (ECOFIN) ultimately adopt them in July. October Euro area Member States submit draft budget plans for the following year to the Commission (by 15 October). If a plan is out of line with a Member State's medium-term targets, the Commission can ask it to be redrafted.

18. » In 2016 AGS, 3 pillars have been established : I - re-launching investment II - pursuing structural reforms to modernise our economies III - responsible fiscal policies. The 2016 AGS is published alongside a set of documents: Alert Mechanism Report Draft Joint Employment Report Recommendations for the euro area Proposal for regulation on the Structural Reform Support Programme In order to better understand employment and social trends, the macroeconomic imbalances procedure scoreboard used in the Alert Mechanism Report contains three new employment indicators: the activity rate, long-term unemployment and youth unemployment. Moreover, the country reports published in February refer to a variety of employment and social indicators. A Social Impact Assessment (SIA) of the redistributive effects of the support measures should be adopted for programme countries. The first (and only) application of this tool was made in August 2015 for Greece and carried out by DG EMPL.

20. » Communication: Towards a job-rich recovery Communication: Towards a job-rich recovery » Commission staff working document: Quality framework for traineeships (2012) Commission staff working document: Quality framework for traineeships (2012) » Commission staff working document on exploiting the employment potential of the personal and household services (2012) Commission staff working document on exploiting the employment potential of the personal and household services (2012) » Commission staff working document: Reforming EURES to meet the goals of Europe 2020 (2012) Commission staff working document: Reforming EURES to meet the goals of Europe 2020 (2012) » Commission staff working document: Implementing the Youth Opportunities Initiative - First steps taken (2012) Commission staff working document: Implementing the Youth Opportunities Initiative - First steps taken (2012) » Commission staff working document on labour market trends and challenges (2012) Commission staff working document on labour market trends and challenges (2012) » Commission staff working document: Open, dynamic and inclusive labour markets (2012) Commission staff working document: Open, dynamic and inclusive labour markets (2012) » Commission staff working document: Exploiting the employment potential of ICTs (2012) Commission staff working document: Exploiting the employment potential of ICTs (2012) » Commission staff working document on an action plan for the EU healthcare workforce (2012) Commission staff working document on an action plan for the EU healthcare workforce (2012) » Commission staff working document: Exploiting the employment potential of green growth (2012) Commission staff working document: Exploiting the employment potential of green growth (2012)

21. » 3 main axes: 1.Supporting job creation: Focus more on demand- side (Exploit job creation in 3 new sectors: green economy, health & social services, ICT); Reduce tax on labour (but also reduce employer social security contributions); Tackle undeclared work; Modernise wage-setting systems to align wages with productivity developments.

22. 2. Restoring dynamics of labour markets: Reform labour markets by encouraging companies' internal flexibility, and reducing the labour market segmentation between those in precarious employment and those on more stable employment; Invest in skills; Moving towards a European labour market. 3. Improving EU governance: Reinforcing coordination and multilateral surveillance in employment policy by publishing a benchmarking system with selected employment indicators together with the draft Joint employment report and developing a reform tracking device to keep track of progress implementing national reform programmes; Effectively involving the social partners in the European semester by setting up an EU tripartite format for monitoring and exchanging views on wage developments; strengthening the link between employment policies and relevant financial instruments.Joint employment report reform tracking devicenational reform programmesEuropean semester

23. » Youth Employment Package includes: Youth Employment Package A recommendation on introducing a Youth Guarantee in each Member State to ensure that all young people up to age 25 receive a quality offer of a job, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed – adopted by the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO) in February 2013. Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO) Second-stage consultation of EU social partners on a quality framework for traineeshipsSecond-stage consultation of EU social partners on a quality framework for traineeships. The announcement of a European Alliance for Apprenticeships and ways to reduce obstacles to mobility for young people. A Youth Employment Initiative proposed by the 7-8 February 2013 European Council with a budget of €6 billion for the period 2014- 20.

24. Communication from the Commission: Towards Social Investment for Growth and Cohesion – including implementing the European Social Fund 2014-2020 (2013) Commission Recommendation: Investing in Children – breaking the cycle of disadvantage (2013) Staff working document: Evidence on Demographic and Social Trends – Social Policies' Contribution to Inclusion, Employment and the Economy (Part 1) (2013) Staff working document: Evidence on Demographic and Social Trends – Social Policies' Contribution to Inclusion, Employment and the Economy (Part 2) (2013) Staff working document: Follow-up on the implementation by the Member States of the 2008 European Commission recommendation on active inclusion of people excluded from the labour market -– Towards a social investment approach (2013) Staff working document: 3rd Biennial Report on Social Services of General Interest (2013) Staff working document: Long-term care in ageing societies – Challenges and policy options (2013) Staff working document: Confronting Homelessness in the European Union (2013) Staff working document: Investing in Health (2013) Staff working document: Social investment through the European Social Fund (2013)

25. » It focuses on: Ensuring that social protection systems respond to people's needs at critical moments throughout their lives. Simplified and better targeted social policies, to provide adequate and sustainable social protection systems. Upgrading active inclusion strategies in the Member States. Affordable quality childcare and education, prevention of early school leaving, training and job-search assistance, housing support and accessible health care are all policy areas with a strong social investment dimension.