The OSE is a partner in this new project led by the European Public Sector Union (EPSU). The partnership also includes the School of Education of the University of Nottingham. The project aims at investigating the extent to which public sector trade unions – in particular in the area of education – have been involved (if at all) in the European Semester. The project should provide public sector trade unions with tools to achieve effective involvement in the Semester. The OSE will conduct case studies in France and Italy.
European Semester
The OSE is the lead partner of this Commission-funded project. The partnership is made up of ten institutions. These include universities (the University of Macerata, Uppsala University and University of Turku); trade union-related research institutes (the European Social Observatory, the Hans Boeckler Foundation’s Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), and the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research (ISTUR); independent research centres (the Centre for Studies for Social Intervention (CESIS), the Bulgarian Academy of Science and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
With inequality increasing across Europe and the EU not on track to achieve the Europe 2020 social objectives, the UK-based European Social Network (ESN) has again asked the OSE to provide scientific underpinning of its work on the European Semester. The focus will be on the impact of austerity policies on public social services management and provision, territorial disparities and evidence-based policy-making. Policy areas covered will include children’s services, homelessness and housing exclusion, community care and de-institutionalization as well as services to immigrants and refugees.
The OSE has started a new research project on “Modernising public administration – The implications for social dialogue and collective bargaining”. The aim of this research – commissioned by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and financed by the European Commission - is twofold. First, we will shed light on the key messages concerning the modernisation of public administration emerging from the European Semester (in particular, from the annual Country-specific Recommendations).
Bart Vanhercke and Jonathan Zeitlin (University of Amsterdam) have been tasked by the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU to assess how social and employment issues are being considered in the European Semester. The report will also pinpoint possible shortcomings of the current process and propose concrete suggestions on how the social policy dimension can be further enhanced within the EPSCO Council formation.
Jonathan Zeitlin (University of Amsterdam) and Bart Vanhercke conducted joint work on behalf of the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (SIEPS) on economic governance and social policy coordination in the European Semester and Europe 2020. The European Semester of policy coordination, introduced since the beginning of the Euro crisis, has prompted questions about the nature and dynamics of the EU’s emerging socio-economic governance architecture.
The final conference of the INVOTUNES research project will bring together researchers, EU and national policymakers, social partners and other stakeholders to discuss the present and future role of social partners in the Semester. There will be ample time to consider the project’s key findings and examine the eight case studies (BE, BG, DE, FI, HU, IT, PT and SE).
14.00 - 16.00 CET (Brussels time)
Webinar organised by the University of Victoria (Canada) and the OSE (Brussels), with the support of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).
With Ana Cardoso - CESIS, Pedro Perista - CESIS, Emmanuele Pavolini - University of Macerata, Antonieta Ministro - Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security–GEP (Portugal), Catarina Dantas Machado - EC Representation in Portugal, Fernando Marques - CGTP-IN, Salvatore Marra - CGIL, Ana Paula Bernardo - General Union of Workers–UGT, Helena Leal - Portuguese Commerce and Services Confederation–CCP. Moderator: Bart Vanhercke – OSE.
For the past two decades, the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and the European Social Observatory (OSE) have worked together with many well-known academics to produce the book ‘Social policy in the European Union: state of play’ (the ‘Bilan Social’). On the occasion of the publication of the French version of the 21st edition of this edited volume, the editors will present the key messages from the book, as well as overall developments concerning the interface between the Green Deal and social policies, and how the Deal fits into the European Semester.