ETUC presents critical input on the 2025 European Semester Spring Package at joint EMCO/ SPC committee meeting on the 5th of June.
On 5 June 2025, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) addressed the joint meeting of the EU Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee to present its input on the 2025 European Semester Spring Package. Representing the voice of workers across Europe, the ETUC called for a decisive shift away from austerity-driven economic governance and toward a model rooted in social justice, public investment, and wage-led growth.
Link to Press release on the Spring Package 04/06/2025 : Fiscal rules: Governments must prioritise tax justice, not austerity | ETUC
Please find the speech here.
Rejecting narrow vision of competitiveness in favour of long-term competitiveness based on investment
The ETUC expressed concern over the 2025 Package’s core emphasis on the “Competitiveness Compass,” warning against a narrow focus on cost-cutting in labour markets and public finances. “True, long term competitiveness must be rooted in fairness and sustainability—not in wage suppression, labour deregulation, or underinvestment in public goods,” ETUC declared. Instead, it advocated for a balanced approach that prioritises public services, skilled and fairly paid workers, regional cohesion, and social dialogue.
Public investment: a strategic imperative
The intervention underscored that private investment alone cannot close the EU’s structural investment gaps in areas such as care, education, decarbonisation, and digitalisation. The ETUC reiterated its call for a permanent EU investment facility, funded through common borrowing, to enable strategic transitions without undermining cohesion. It criticised the reformed fiscal rules of the Stability and Growth Pact for continuing to incentivise fiscal contraction, warning that “if applied rigidly, [it] could repeat the mistakes of past austerity cycles.”
A call to address wage stagnation and in-work poverty
Framing Europe’s wage crisis as a structural emergency, the ETUC highlighted declining real wages despite strong corporate profits and productivity recovery. It called for the full implementation of the Minimum Wage Directive and national plans to achieve 80% collective bargaining coverage. The organisation also urged integration of wage trends into the Semester’s surveillance mechanisms, stating: “Europe’s working people cannot be expected to carry the burden of every crisis. It is time for a pay rise.”
Wage-led growth was also positioned as a countermeasure to deindustrialisation, particularly in lower-income regions. “If we cannot buy, we cannot produce,” the ETUC argued, making the case for higher wages as a catalyst for domestic demand, SME vitality, and industrial renewal.
The right to training and a Just Transition
Recognising the need for a skilled workforce in green and digital transitions, the ETUC proposed a Directive enshrining a Right to Training. This would guarantee access to publicly funded training, income-secured time off, and targeted support for disadvantaged workers. It also renewed its demand for a Just Transition Directive to manage industrial change proactively and fairly.
The ETUC criticised over-reliance on conditional Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) whose long-term effectiveness has yet to be proven, advocating instead for inclusive, universal access to quality upskilling measures funded through the European Social Fund Plus.
Closing territorial gaps: investing in cohesion
The ETUC warned that deepening divides between metropolitan centres and peripheral regions are threatening the EU’s social fabric. It called for a comprehensive regional investment strategy combining material and social infrastructure, better integration of cohesion policy into the Semester process, and tools to direct investment to regions facing depopulation, low employment, or industrial decline.
Fiscal policy: redefining responsibility
While acknowledging recent debt-to-GDP reductions, the ETUC cautioned against returning to fiscal orthodoxy. It advocated for a fiscal stance that supports strategic public investment even if it involves higher debt levels. The organisation criticised the limited impact of escape clauses in the Stability and Growth Pact, noting that flexibility has not translated into meaningful public spending space and that “social spending is often first to be cut.”
Social convergence framework: a welcome but weak start
Welcoming the new Social Convergence Framework as a step toward integrating social priorities, the ETUC nonetheless stressed the need for stronger institutional backing. It called for binding country-specific recommendations on wages and social protection, measurable social targets in national plans, and full involvement of social partners at all governance levels.
Tax Justice: the missing link in the package
While the 2025 Spring Package addressed tax compliance and green incentives, it overlooked the deeper structural issues in Europe’s tax systems. The ETUC reaffirmed its call for a new approach to tax justice, proposing:
- Minimum effective taxation of wealth and capital;
- Windfall taxes on excess profits;
- Robust action against tax evasion and avoidance;
- A fair tax burden between labour, capital and environmental harm
The confederation announced it is finalising an Action Plan for Tax Justice and urged EU institutions and Member States to engage in its implementation.
Conclusion: toward a people-centred Semester
In its concluding message, the ETUC stated clearly: “The European Semester must evolve… Let this be the Semester cycle where social ambition returns to the heart of the EU project.” It reaffirmed its readiness to collaborate with EU institutions and national governments to build a governance system that supports the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Green Deal, and the goal of strategic autonomy – anchored in inclusive growth and solidarity.