In a report on the social dimension of the European Semester budget process drafted by Krzysztof Hetman (EPP, Poland) and adopted on Tuesday 27 February (24 votes for, 10 against, with 14 abstentions), the European Parliament's employment and social affairs committee (EMPL) calls for an increase in the budget for cohesion policy and the European Social Fund (ESF) after 2020.
The MEPs were giving their views on the annual growth examination for 2018 and the Semester launched after the Gothenberg Summit (see EUROPE 11906).
Although the Commission appears to want to move towards introducing budget cuts in the cohesion policy domain, (see EUROPE 11968), MEPs are calling for the budgetary envelope on cohesion policy be increased as part of the next multi-annual financial framework. In the same compromise amendment adopted, they call for the budget for the ESF to be increased as well.
At a more general level, MEPs are calling for the European Semester to really integrate the principles of the European pillar on social rights and consider that in order to do this, the social dialogue should be carried out at all levels to ensure upward convergence. They are calling on the European Commission to come up with "concrete" proposals (legislation, financial instruments) to underpin these "concrete" results. For example: improve the take-up of European Funds for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
MEPs are also emphasising the importance of developing digital skills and improving workers' mobility throughout the Union and between all sectors. The MEPs are, above all, calling for qualifications to be recognised, as well as the skills acquired in an informal way, in order to enhance employability, particularly for young people.
Whistleblowers. The parliamentary committee is also calling on the Commission to develop new forms of social dialogue adapted to developments in employment. It is, above all, insisting that workers are protected when they become whistleblowers. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)