Draft Programme
09:30 – Opening session
Chair: Mr Javier Doz Orrit, President of the European Semester Group (ESG), European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
- Ms Christa Schweng, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
- Ms Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, European Commission
10:00 – Building on the experience of the RRF and NRRPs, how to create a common and permanent EU instrument to increase its crisis preparedness and crisis response capacity
Tackling current and future challenges is essential for a rapid recovery. The experience from the Recovery and Resilience Facility can guide us in this process of ensuring the strategic autonomy of the EU and its Member States. To succeed in the recovery and the green and digital transitions, Europe will need massive public and private investments in the years to come. The NRRPs are a starting point and they could be the basis for moving towards our common goals. How can we make them structural and permanent to ensure that we invest together in key areas (such as semiconductors, health, food autonomy, etc.)?
Moderator: Mr Stefano Palmieri, president of the ECO section
- Mr Johannes Lübking, Principal Adviser and European Semester Coordinator in the Recovery and Resilience Task Force (RECOVER), European Commission
- Mr Kajus Hagelstam, Head of the Economic governance support unit, European Parliament
- Mr Zsolt Darvas, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
11:30 – European semester and reform of the EU economic governance
In 2020, the framework for the annual coordination of economic, fiscal and employment policies across the European Union, "the European Semester", was temporarily adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic towards addressing the negative health and socio-economic consequences. New economic circumstances and the European response to the COVID-19 crisis caused a temporary adjustment of the European Semester also in 2021 with policy guidance focusing solely on fiscal policies, as the attention was put on the preparation, adoption and implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs). These plans are a key tool for the delivery of the European Semester, as they address a significant subset of challenges identified in the relevant country-specific recommendations. Thus, the progress made in the implementation of NRRPs is intrinsically linked to the monitoring of recommendations in the Semester. The European Semester has proved to be a credible and flexible framework for the EU economic, fiscal and employment policy coordination.
In the coming year, the implementation of RRPs will bring additional experience and knowledge on linkages between the Semester and the RRF. It makes it necessary to continue adapting the European Semester, as the two processes are closely linked in terms of process and substance. This will be further underlined by the fact that the 2022 Country Reports and the Draft Country-Specific Recommendation will have been published shortly before the conference.
Moderator: Mr Gonçalo Lobo Xavier, Vice-president of the European Semester Group (ESG), European Economic and Social Committee
- Mr Dragos Pislaru, rapporteur on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, member of the European Parliament
- Mr Nils Redeker, Policy Fellow for European Economic Policy, Jacques Delors Centre
- Ms Brikena Xhomaqi, Co-chair of the EESC Liaison Group, Director of the Lifelong Learning Platform
12:50 – Closing remarks
- Mr Luca Jahier, Vice-president of the European Semester Group (ESG), European Economic and Social Committee
Interpretation from DE/ES/EN/FR/IT into ES/EN/FR