CEEP addressed today the second Macro Economic Dialogue at Political Level organized under the Netherlands Presidency. “Public services’ employers particularly acknowledge the importance that President Dijsselbloem attaches to the Macro Economic Dialogue and we encourage future presidencies to give equal importance to the exchange of views with social partners. This should lay the basis for strengthening the Macro Economic Dialogue and for fully linking it to the semester process” said CEEP General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti.

Regarding structural reforms, the main point at the agenda, Valeria Ronzitti made the case for balanced structural reforms, able to reinforce upward convergence. “However, structural reforms are not automatically successful; a thorough assessment needs to be made of what they encompass”, explained Ms Ronzitti. "Three distinct elements are necessary for structural reforms to be successful:

• to follow a reasonable pace in order not to impose excessive shocks on our economies;
• to properly involve social partners when structural reforms are not directly negotiated by them at national level;
• to shape structural reforms with a truly long-term vision, without being at the expense of investments in public services infrastructures."

As the recipe for successful structural reforms contains investments among its key ingredients, CEEP encourages future Macro Economic Dialogue meetings to specifically focus on this issue, in the context of the proposed strengthening and prolongation of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). This would also favour investments in social infrastructures, which keep lagging behind since the launch of the EFSI.