On 27 November 2015, the EU Semester Alliance – a European NGO Alliance Alliance advocating for a democratic, social and sustainable European Semester – held its first stakeholder dialogue meeting with key representatives from the European Commission and the Council of Ministers engaged in the Semester process. As part of this Alliance, AGE Platform Europe took part in this roundtable exchange which discussed the latest developments in the 2016 European Semester and the Alliance’s first reaction to the new Annual Growth Survey based on its joint letter to President Juncker.
The meeting enabled an exchange of information and views on the opportunities and threats posed by new EU initiatives, and on what more could be done to make progress. Well-attended and warmly welcomed by all participants, it aims at starting a regular dialogue between representatives of the 16 member organisations of the Alliance and key officials in the EU institutions on key concerns related to the European Semester.
The Alliance’s main concern is to increase the opportunities for civil society and trade unions to engage with and influence the European Semester, at national and EU levels.