Why was the European Semester created?
The recent economic crisis demonstrated a need for stronger economic governance and better policy coordination between the member states.
In a Union of highly integrated economies, enhanced policy coordination can help prevent discrepancies and contribute to ensuring convergence and stability in the EU as a whole, and in its member states.
The economic policy coordination procedures that existed until 2010 were carried out independently of each other.
The member states therefore saw the need to synchronize the timetables of these procedures in order to streamline the process and to better align the goals of national budgetary, growth and employment policies, while taking into account the objectives they have set for themselves as the Union.
Furthermore, there was a need to extend the areas of surveillance and coordination to broader macroeconomic policies.
For these reasons and as a part of a wider reform of the EU economic governance, the EU member states established the European Semester in 2010. The first cycle took place in 2011.