Yesterday, the European Commission launched the new annual European semester – a cycle of fiscal, economic, and social policy coordination within the EU, introduced in 2010 in response to the financial crisis. Its purpose is to ensure coordinated action to address common European priorities and challenges, and to prevent similar crises in the future. 

The Socialists and Democrats deplore that, for the first time, the European Semester package does not include the Annual Growth Survey, which outlines the Union’s economic, employment, and social priorities, and anchors the Semester in a broad vision of sustainable growth.

This year, the Commission has drastically narrowed the scope of the Semester. The package is guided by the Competitive Compass – focused primarily on innovation, decarbonisation, and reducing dependencies.

This shift comes precisely as the Commission plans to channel major funding in the next long-term EU budget through National and Regional Partnership Plans and the European Competitiveness Fund, all tied to the Semester’s guidance. Weakening the Semester now risks undermining Europe’s ability to deliver fair and future-proof investment.

Gaby Bischoff, S&D vice-president for social Europe, said:

“While the Competitive Compass covers important areas for the EU, it represents a far narrower vision than in previous years. This risks sidelining key social, economic, and environmental dimensions at a time when Europe needs a comprehensive and ambitious strategy. The 2026 Joint Employment Report illustrates this imbalance clearly: instead of assessing all 20 principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, as required by Regulation 2024/1263, it reduces the social dimension almost entirely to skills – sidelining poverty, housing, health, minimum income, pensions, and essential services.

“By reducing the scope of the Semester, the Commission weakens one of the Union’s key tools for promoting economic and social convergence and overlooks the clear mandate set by the co-legislators, who agreed on a Semester that strengthens – not weakens – the social dimension of EU economic governance. We cannot accept a European Semester that labels pensions as ‘risks’ while treating military spending as ‘investments’. Social protection is not a vulnerability, it is a condition for democratic stability, economic resilience, and European cohesion.

“If the Semester is to guide future EU funding, it must offer holistic, transparent and democratically-accountable guidance. Europe must remain committed to competitiveness, sustainability, and social fairness – without allowing one objective to come at the expense of the others. We therefore call on the Commission to fully align the Semester with the European Pillar of Social Rights, ensuring that EU economic governance truly supports quality jobs, workers’ rights, and inclusive growth across the Union.”