Documents in 2013
June 2013
European Council endorses the country-specific recommendations
The European Council generally endorsed the country-specific recommendations. This concludes the 2013 European Semester.
The member states will now translate these recommendations into their forthcoming decisions on budgets, structural reforms and employment and social policies, while promoting full national ownership and preserving social dialogue.
The Council and the European Commission will closely monitor the implementation.
See more:
Integrated country-specific recommendations (pdf):
May 2013
Commission issues country-specific recommendations
The country-specific recommendations contain guidance on implementing national policies in 2013-2014 in ways that would help the EU to grow sustainably, create jobs and ensure decent living standards for all its citizens.
Under the European Semester the Council discusses the recommendations, amends them if necessary, and adopts them in July.
The recommendations are tailor-made for each country and have been drafted following a thorough assessment of:
- the implementation of the last year's recommendations,
- member states' economic, employment and budgetary situations
- member states' policy plans which they submitted in April.
In addition, the Commission issued a separate recommendation for the euro area as a whole.
Countries that are implementing a macroeconomic adjustment programme (currently Cyprus, Ireland, Greece and Portugal) do not receive recommendations under the European Semester, because the implementation of those programmes is monitored under a separate process.
The Council adopted conclusions on the in-depth reviews of 2013
April 2013
Member states' national reform programmes and stability or convergence programmes
The member states have submitted their annual national programmes:
- national reform programmes (structural reform plans, focused on promoting growth and employment in line with the Europe 2020 strategy)
- stability programmes (euro area countries) or convergence programmes (non euro area countries) setting out their medium-term fiscal policies.
Croatia in the 2013 European Semester is participating informally.
In-depth reviews of macroeconomic imbalances
The European Commission published in-depth reviews of macroeconomic imbalances in 13 EU member states: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
These 13 countries were selected in the Commission's Alert Mechanism Report published in November 2012. The report called for in-depth reviews of developments related to the accumulation of macroeconomic imbalances in those 13 countries. The Alert Mechanism Report is part of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure which is carried out in the context of the European Semester.
Countries implementing economic adjustment programmes – Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Romania – are not included in this exercise.
Main findings by country
The Commission has identified imbalances in all 13 countries, and concluded that Spain and Slovenia have built up excessive macroeconomic imbalances.
The situation may trigger the corrective arm of the macroeconomic imbalance procedure: specific recommendations on concrete actions to correct the imbalances would be issued. The corrective arm of the procedure could ultimately lead to sanctions.
Main cross-country findings
The 2013 reviews concluded that macroeconomic adjustment in Europe is proceeding, though there are differences in the nature and pace of adjustment among the member states.
They point to declining current account deficits, converging unit labour costs, correction in excessive housing prices and reductions in private sector indebtedness. However, due to different challenges and imbalances, the cross-country growth differences are expected to persist in the coming years.
Nevertheless, in some countries weakness of economic activity and a fragile economic outlook may have aggravated both the risks and the cross-country spillovers related to macroeconomic imbalances. In several countries, therefore, the imbalances need to be closely monitored and tackled through structural reforms.
Background
The purpose of in-depth reviews is to determine whether excessive macroeconomic imbalances exist and if so, what the nature and the scope of such imbalances are in individual countries. Each country is then invited to take the findings into account when drafting their policy plans (National Reform Programmes and Stability or Convergence Programmes).
The programmes are assessed by the Commission in the context of the European Semester. Following the assessment, the Commission drafts country-specific recommendations to be adopted by the Council.
March 2013
General Affairs Council adopted the summary report of the discussions in various Council formations on the EU's economic policy priorities for 2013. On the basis of this report the March European Council adopts strategic guidance for member states, which they are invited to take into account when drafting their plans for national budgetary policies and structural reforms.
European Council
The March European Council conclusions among other issues contain strategic guidance for the member states' national budgetary policies and structural reforms for 2013.
European Council conclusions, 14/15 March 2013 (pdf)
February 2013
Council of the EU conclusions following the release of the Annual Growth Survey and the Alert Mechanism Report
The Council examined the Annual Growth Survey and the Alert Mechanism Report and adopted its conclusions. The conclusions endorse the policy priorities set out in the survey and highlight the most important areas where action needs to be taken.
The Council agreed that the priorities identified in the 2012 survey remain valid for 2013:
- Pursuing differentiated, growth-friendly fiscal consolidation
- Restoring normal lending to the economy
- Promoting growth and competitiveness for today and tomorrow
- Tackling unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis
- Modernising public administration
It also considered that improving confidence, reviving economic growth, ensuring debt sustainability and improving competitiveness, whilst creating the conditions for sustainable growth and jobs in the longer term, are of particular importance at the current juncture.
As concerns the alert mechanism report, the Council acknowledged that many EU economies
continue to face important challenges in correcting macroeconomic imbalances accumulated before
the economic crisis. It welcomed the implementation of structural reforms in the member states, leading to gains in competitiveness and a rebalancing in the EU and within the euro area.
November 2012
Annual Growth Survey by the European Commission
In its annual growth survey for 2013 the European Commission recommends that the EU focus on five priorities:
- Pursuing differentiated, growth-friendly fiscal consolidation
- Restoring normal lending to the economy
- Promoting growth and competitiveness for today and tomorrow
- Tackling unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis
- Modernising public administration
The Annual Growth Survey feeds into a debate on overall priorities agreed at the EU level and consequently national economic and budgetary decisions, which member states will set out in their stability or convergence programmes (under the Stability and Growth Pact) and national reform programmes (under the Europe 2020 strategy) in April.