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Building a European care regime: EU governance of national care provision through the European Semester

Anna Elomäki & Paul Copeland

Journal of European Social Policy2026https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287261419986article
AJG 3
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

This study explores how the European Union (EU) governs care provision in member states through the European Semester and its Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs). Introduced after the economic crisis, the Semester has became a targeted tool for shaping national care policies and regimes, complementing EU measures like family leave directives and childcare targets. Our qualitative analysis of CSRs from 2011–2024, focused on policy orientations and policy frames, shows that the European Semester has been pivotal in the EU’s strategy to shape care policies and systems in member states—a field that belongs to member state competences but is essential to the EU’s social and economic objectives. The European Commission has consistently used the Semester to encourage care-related reforms. While social investment frame aimed at promoting women’s employment is prominent, a cost-cutting approach implying market solutions and family responsibilities remains strong for long-term care. We suggest that the European Semester aims to align national care regimes, fostering a European model based on a fiscally sustainable balance between unpaid care provided by families and care provided by states and markets and underpinned by a commodifying script.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287261419986

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{anna2026,
  title        = {{Building a European care regime: EU governance of national care provision through the European Semester}},
  author       = {Anna Elomäki & Paul Copeland},
  journal      = {Journal of European Social Policy},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287261419986},
}

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Building a European care regime: EU governance of national care provision through the European Semester

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.