European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 – annual report 2026

4.3.2026 A10-0033/1

Amendment 1

Marlena Maląg, Nicolas Bay, Guillaume Peltier, Marion Maréchal, Laurence Trochu

on behalf of the ECR Group

Report A10-0033/2026

Nela Riehl

European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 – annual report 2026

(2025/2183(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Recital C

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

C. whereas 93.3 million people, accounting for 21 % of the EU population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) in 2024, which shows that limited progress has been made towards the 2030 EPSR target for poverty reduction, with the trend in more than half of Member States moving in the wrong direction; whereas poverty risks are much higher for women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, the LGBTI+ community, low-skilled people, third-country nationals, Roma, single-parent households, and people living in depopulated areas, and significant discrepancies persist between and within Member States, including between rural and urban areas; whereas this divergence between rising average incomes and persistent poverty levels highlights structural challenges in income distribution, labour markets and the design and coverage of social protection systems; whereas more than 40 million people in the EU, corresponding to around 9.2 % of the population, experienced energy poverty in 2024, leading to material deprivation; whereas the insufficient coverage and inadequacy of minimum income schemes, unemployment benefits and family and child benefits, as well as barriers to labour market integration and accessing quality public services such as health, education, care and housing, contribute to the persistence of poverty and social exclusion, particularly among the most disadvantaged groups; whereas without a change of approach to tackling poverty at EU and national level, it will not be possible to reverse the trend; whereas an ambitious EU anti-poverty strategy will be essential to provide responses to the multidimensional phenomenon of poverty;

C. whereas 93.3 million people, accounting for 21 % of the EU population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) in 2024, which shows that limited progress has been made towards the 2030 EPSR target for poverty reduction, with the trend in more than half of Member States moving in the wrong direction; whereas poverty risks are much higher for women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, the LGBTI+ community, low-skilled people, third-country nationals, Roma, single-parent households, and people living in depopulated areas, mountainous regions and islands, and significant discrepancies persist between and within Member States, including between rural and urban areas; whereas this divergence between rising average incomes and persistent poverty levels highlights structural challenges in income distribution, labour markets and the design and coverage of social protection systems; whereas more than 40 million people in the EU, corresponding to around 9.2 % of the population, experienced energy poverty in 2024, leading to material deprivation; whereas the insufficient coverage and inadequacy of minimum income schemes, unemployment benefits and family and child benefits, as well as barriers to labour market integration and accessing quality public services such as health, education, care and housing, contribute to the persistence of poverty and social exclusion, particularly among the most disadvantaged groups; whereas without a change of approach to tackling poverty at EU and national level, it will not be possible to reverse the trend; whereas an ambitious EU anti-poverty strategy will be essential to provide responses to the multidimensional phenomenon of poverty;

Or. en

4.3.2026 A10-0033/2

Amendment 2

Marlena Maląg

on behalf of the ECR Group

Report A10-0033/2026

Nela Riehl

European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 – annual report 2026

(2025/2183(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Recital C

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

C. whereas 93.3 million people, accounting for 21 % of the EU population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) in 2024, which shows that limited progress has been made towards the 2030 EPSR target for poverty reduction, with the trend in more than half of Member States moving in the wrong direction; whereas poverty risks are much higher for women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, the LGBTI+ community, low-skilled people, third-country nationals, Roma, single-parent households, and people living in depopulated areas, and significant discrepancies persist between and within Member States, including between rural and urban areas; whereas this divergence between rising average incomes and persistent poverty levels highlights structural challenges in income distribution, labour markets and the design and coverage of social protection systems; whereas more than 40 million people in the EU, corresponding to around 9.2 % of the population, experienced energy poverty in 2024, leading to material deprivation; whereas the insufficient coverage and inadequacy of minimum income schemes, unemployment benefits and family and child benefits, as well as barriers to labour market integration and accessing quality public services such as health, education, care and housing, contribute to the persistence of poverty and social exclusion, particularly among the most disadvantaged groups; whereas without a change of approach to tackling poverty at EU and national level, it will not be possible to reverse the trend; whereas an ambitious EU anti-poverty strategy will be essential to provide responses to the multidimensional phenomenon of poverty;

C. whereas 93.3 million people, accounting for 21 % of the EU population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) in 2024, which shows that limited progress has been made towards the 2030 EPSR target for poverty reduction, with the trend in more than half of Member States moving in the wrong direction; whereas poverty risks are much higher for women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, low-skilled people, third-country nationals, Roma, single-parent households, and people living in depopulated areas, and significant discrepancies persist between and within Member States, including between rural and urban areas; whereas this divergence between rising average incomes and persistent poverty levels highlights structural challenges in income distribution, labour markets and the design and coverage of social protection systems; whereas more than 40 million people in the EU, corresponding to around 9.2 % of the population, experienced energy poverty in 2024, leading to material deprivation; whereas the insufficient coverage and inadequacy of minimum income schemes, unemployment benefits and family and child benefits, as well as barriers to labour market integration and accessing quality public services such as health, education, care and housing, contribute to the persistence of poverty and social exclusion, particularly among the most disadvantaged groups; whereas without a change of approach to tackling poverty at EU and national level, it will not be possible to reverse the trend; whereas an ambitious EU anti-poverty strategy will be essential to provide responses to the multidimensional phenomenon of poverty;

Or. en

4.3.2026 A10-0033/3

Amendment 3

Marlena Maląg, Nicolas Bay, Guillaume Peltier, Marion Maréchal, Laurence Trochu

on behalf of the ECR Group

Report A10-0033/2026

Nela Riehl

European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 – annual report 2026

(2025/2183(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Recital G a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

Ga. whereas, as mentioned in the report by Mario Draghi of 9 September 2024 on the future of EU competitiveness, the EU’s competitiveness has suffered because of excessive regulatory burdens and ‘inconsistent and restrictive regulations’, contributing in particular to the reduction of its industrial fabric and therefore its employment pools;

Or. en

4.3.2026 A10-0033/4

Amendment 4

Marlena Maląg, Nicolas Bay, Guillaume Peltier, Marion Maréchal, Laurence Trochu

on behalf of the ECR Group

Report A10-0033/2026

Nela Riehl

European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 – annual report 2026

(2025/2183(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Recital H

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

H. whereas the EU faces persistent labour and skills shortages in several sectors, driven by different factors, such as demographic and technological change, skills mismatches, job quality and lack of attractiveness of and investment into quality public services, which has been identified as a key barrier for EU growth and competitiveness; whereas limited career prospects and precarious working conditions of young people in parts of the Union contribute to talent outflows between EU regions and third countries, further exacerbating these shortages; whereas the Commission proposal for a 2026 joint employment report highlights that addressing structural labour market weaknesses through better job quality supports higher productivity, economic performance, social fairness and cohesion; whereas improving workers’ rights, collective bargaining, active labour market policies, access to social protection and skills development opportunities for all, including third-country nationals, as well as targeted activation measures for the 51 million people of working age currently outside the labour force, would help strengthen participation, inclusiveness and competitiveness; whereas by 2050, the EU working population is expected to shrink by up to 18.8 million people, which suggests that legal labour migration can help to respond to evolving labour market needs;

H. whereas the EU faces persistent labour and skills shortages in several sectors, driven by different factors, such as demographic and technological change, skills mismatches, job quality and lack of attractiveness of and investment into quality public services, which has been identified as a key barrier for EU growth and competitiveness; whereas limited career prospects and precarious working conditions of young people in parts of the Union contribute to talent outflows between EU regions and third countries, further exacerbating these shortages; whereas the Commission proposal for a 2026 joint employment report highlights that addressing structural labour market weaknesses through better job quality supports higher productivity, economic performance, social fairness and cohesion; whereas improving workers’ rights, collective bargaining, active labour market policies, access to social protection and skills development opportunities for all, including third-country nationals, as well as targeted activation measures for the 51 million people of working age currently outside the labour force, would help strengthen participation, inclusiveness and competitiveness; whereas by 2050, because of the declining birth rate in the EU, the EU working population is expected to shrink by up to 18.8 million people; whereas, in the EU, the inactivity rate among non-EU nationals is on average around 15 % higher than that of EU nationals, a situation which places an increased burden on Member States’ social systems and highlights the need for strictly selected and time-limited migration policies, subject to the discretion of the Member States;

Or. en

4.3.2026 A10-0033/5

Amendment 5

Marlena Maląg, Nicolas Bay, Guillaume Peltier, Marion Maréchal, Laurence Trochu

on behalf of the ECR Group

Report A10-0033/2026

Nela Riehl

European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 – annual report 2026

(2025/2183(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph -1

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

-1. Recalls that the European Semester should remain a non-binding instrument for the coordination of the macroeconomic and fiscal policies of the Member States in order to ensure the underlying soundness of the EU’s monetary policy, with EU social competence playing a supporting role to Member States’ policies;

Or. en

4.3.2026 A10-0033/6

Amendment 6

Marlena Maląg, Nicolas Bay, Guillaume Peltier, Marion Maréchal, Laurence Trochu

on behalf of the ECR Group

Report A10-0033/2026

Nela Riehl

European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 – annual report 2026

(2025/2183(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 1 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

1a. Encourages the Commission to pursue efforts to simplify the administrative burden and bureaucracy, as well as excessive sustainability measures that undermine the competitiveness of businesses and European employment;

Or. en

4.3.2026 A10-0033/7

Amendment 7

Marlena Maląg, Nicolas Bay, Guillaume Peltier, Marion Maréchal, Laurence Trochu

on behalf of the ECR Group

Report A10-0033/2026

Nela Riehl

European Semester for economic policy coordination: employment and social priorities for 2026 – annual report 2026

(2025/2183(INI))

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 2 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

2a. Encourages the Member States to implement policies to boost the birth rate; stresses that, in this regard, certain measures such as childcare services or parental leave can be financed by EU funds;

Or. en