Boosting long-term inclusive growth through reforms and investment

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the Belgian Presidency's initiative on social investment and on how to strengthen the social dimension of the European Semester, in particular through the European Pillar of Social Rights, and expects that the reform of the Semester will improve coordination among Member States, enhance transparency and ensure the proper monitoring of the implementation of national fiscal and structural plans;
• calls for existing financial resources to be efficiently and effectively employed, also through public-private collaboration and by leveraging financial instruments, with maximum flexibility and rigorous evaluation systems;
• believes it urgent to discuss the feasibility of an EU financial capacity by 2026 to meet investment needs for common priorities, particularly for social investment, promoting cyclical stabilisation and the supply of European public goods, ensuring sustainable growth in the medium and long term, and supported by both common guidelines at EU level and EU financial support;
• shares the view that, if well designed, social investment policies can have a positive impact on economic growth, productivity and competitiveness, which is key to keep good jobs in Europe. At the same time, national governments need to review and make sure that their social protection systems are focusing available resources on social support in the areas where it is most needed;
• recommends that, while respecting principle of subsidiarity, investment needs in social infrastructure should be coherent across Member States and should receive EU financial support;
• calls for reforms and investments in key social areas (particularly those that foster human capital), as social policies and social investments (also through more innovative tools and by promoting appropriate reforms and including all concerned actors) can become a productive factor, providing significant economic returns in terms of pro-growth potential and reduced future major costs;
• reiterates its call for the proper involvement of social partners and civil society organisations in all phases of this process, through structured formal consultation procedures.