Involvement of social partners in the national recovery and resilience plans

The social partners were involved in the preparation of the 2021 national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) through a greater variety of settings and procedures than in previous European Semester cycles. However, the quality and intensity of the involvement was reported as uneven and rather weak in a relatively high number of countries.

The most common issue reported by social partners in the preparation of the RRPs was insufficient time for consultation, as well as the lack of adequate feedback regarding their contributions to the plans. Although the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation requires Member States to include in the plans a summary of the consultation process with social partners and other relevant stakeholders, most RRPs only describe this process briefly and do not explicitly report on the social partners’ views or mention which views have been taken on board.

The 2022 European Semester cycle is an important opportunity to implement the policy reforms and investments to which Member States have committed in their national RRPs. Both employer organisations and trade unions are willing to engage in consultation processes that will help to implement the policy measures and reforms set out in the plans.

This engagement is even more critical in the context of the war in Ukraine and the expected decline in growth and rising inflation which is set to further complicate the EU’s recovery from the pandemic.

EU social partners’ involvement in the implementation of the RRPs increases the effectiveness of the structural reforms required to achieve fair and inclusive sustainable economic growth and to ensure social resilience in dealing with the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Their commitment is also crucial to implementing the EU’s twin transition goals, while supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan.