Pietro Regazzoni

ALT This report examines how and why the Semester became part of the governance of the RRF. We also ask to what extent this new set-up has changed the power balance among key EU actors? Drawing on extensive document analysis and 32 semi-structured elite interviews, the findings suggest that initially, due to the crisis, there was a serious risk that EU institutional social actors were losing the prominence they had previously earned. They gradually reclaimed their position as the immediacy of the crisis subsided and a longer-term focus emerged. EU civil servants also engaged with social partners on both sides of industry. EU civil society organisations have been largely sidelined in the RRF process; likewise in most Member States, consultation with domestic stakeholders has remained insufficient by any standard.