23/10/2014 (Agence Europe) – Parliament adopts its position on European semester. On Wednesday 22 October, the European Parliament endorsed the draft report by Philippe De Backer (ALDE, Belgium) on the European Semester budgetary process. In particular, it recommends a stricter monitoring at European level of the member states' application of socio-economic policy recommendations addressed to them by the European Council (see EUROPE 11178). The Belgian socialists and the GUE/NGL Group voted against, criticising firstly the little importance given to workers' rights and secondly the harm done to democracy by a process that is proving incapable of producing growth. (MB)