On its first Plenary Session for 2016, held on March 10, the Economic and Social Council (ESC) adopted an own-initiative resolution on the "Annual Growth Survey 2016 – strengthening the recovery and promoting convergence" (AGS).

By adopting this resolution, the Council continues its tradition of actively involvement in the European Semester process. The ESC expresses its support for the need to retain the top priorities of the AGS 2015 and to continue the policy towards the revival of investment, carrying out structural reforms and pursuing a responsible budgetary policy. The ESC believes that the successful implementation of these priorities will contribute for overcoming the evidential lagging behind in the achievement of the main “Europe 2020” Strategy objectives and at the same time will accelerate the process of socio-economic cohesion between the EU Member States.

The document marks the effective organisational activities of the Commission and the achieved results from the implementation of the adopted in 2015 Investment Plan for Europe. The ESC stresses that it is of essential importance not only the efforts for promoting the public and private investments to continue, but also the need for supporting the human capital and social investments.

In conclusion, when evaluating the foreseen initiatives for 2016 and the European Commission actions, the Council once again appeals to the EU institutions and Member States for joint efforts towards greater integration and coordination of policies to revive the economy and investments. This is a prerequisite for achieving permanent overcoming of the crisis, strengthening the economic recovery and promoting cohesion.