250929_Etuc_sust_econ_soc_progr_2026_Final
KEY MESSAGES
a) Semester 2026 is a turning point for the EU to reset its economic strategy toward
social progress. It is the year in which the EU Quality Job strategy will move its first
steps and country-specific recommendations 2026 may set priorities to design
upcoming National and Regional Partnership Plans under the MFF 2028-34.
b) The role of social partners is key. Within a reinforced social convergence framework,
national social partners – coordinated by European social partners – should have the
possibility to advance proposals for labour-centred CSR. Based on the joint letter of
European Social Partners, it is urgent to define principles, common features and
awaited outputs to be applied to consultation of social partners at the milestones of
the EU Semester, in the respect of national systems of social dialogue and as far as
it does not harm the prerogatives of social partners at national level
c) The ETUC wants to give voice to fears that are shaking European workers across
Europe. The EU should not become a war economy. Recognising the urgency to scale
up the EU defence capacity, the ETUC rejects any trade-off that leads to
underfinancing of investments related to green, welfare states and health of people.
d) Confronted with a deteriorating international outlook, we should revert the current
paradigm based on the stubborn implementation of the SGP. Social fragmentation is
the worst that can happen to a political agenda that has security and defence at its
core. It is important that social policies of the EU are firmly centred on quality jobs,
social investment and improvement of working conditions.
e) Competitiveness should embrace an all-factors productivity concept (social,
environmental and political solidity of our democracies) in which productivity gains
are associated to investment in technology and improvement of working conditions
and valorisation of the EU workforce.
f) The ETUC calls for an ambitious Quality Job Roadmap with an upgrade of the EPSR
especially in the capacity of the EU to offer a solid just transitions framework and new
rights in digitalised workplaces. The main challenges are found in the lack of
convergence of main social indicators, and in poor performance of main indicators
of quality of work.
g) The social measures announced in the SOTEU are insufficient. There is progressive
departure from employment and labour markets policies, leaving social policies
confined to some societal issues (housing, energy poverty, material deprivation,
etc.), that are surely important, but cannot satisfy the workers’ demands for quality
jobs.
h) Wages are a reason of great concern. As they lose purchasing power, in many
industries productivity is depressed by lack of investment, infrastructures and cuts
to public administrations. In sectors where productivity margins improve thanks to
penetration of new technologies wages struggle to receive their fair rate of gains.
i) The European industrial base is not being reinforced (but military) also because of no
plans to steer labour transitions in a long-term perspective. Poor just transition
frameworks urge the ETUC to call for European measures which include anticipation
of change, workers’ involvement and right to training. Adequate resources should be
ensured to these frameworks, for instance, preserving the ESF and the JTF in the
current and future MFFs. There are also delays in transferring technological
advancements into welfare for workers, starting from work-life balance or different
working time arrangements, and poor employees’ involvement in work organisation.
j) While the challenges above can be meant as common to the EU economy, the Social
Convergence Framework should identify, to a larger scale than in the past, systemic
challenges that countries or regions should address to ensure a factual upward
convergence of working conditions. The sector dimension is also key to activate just
transition frameworks and active social dialogue for productive transformations. The
ETUC asks to urgently reconsider the positive impact that social investment have on
economic sustainability in the DSA and fiscal recommendations.
k) As a result of a closer integration of policy objectives of the MFF and EU Semester,
the CSRs 2026 must be able to bring “labour” back at the very core of the EU social
policies, giving new impetus to the EPSR. These two objectives require some
transversal objectives to be achieved.
l) The JER, the social scoreboard, Porto’s targets and distributional impact of social
policies should frame metrics which fulfil requirements of upward convergence of
working and living conditions, with specific focus on inclusiveness of labour market,
adequacy of social protection systems and fight against inequalities.
m) Strengthening collective bargaining should become one central aim of the European
Semester. For this purpose, a close interaction between the action plan to strengthen
collective bargaining in accordance with the Minimum Wage Directive and the
European Semester should be implemented. The two monitoring processes must be
interlinked. Failures to implement the action plan must be addressed in the
European Semester.
n) The next semester should firmly anchor the EU development model to sustainability
models such as the one emerging from the World Social Summit 2025. A
multidimensional sustainability model should open fiscal space for investments in
decarbonising our economy and production and give way to social investments.