Coordination with the EU

The European Semester

The European Semester is a yearly cycle of economic policy strengthening, coordination and monitoring. Each year the European Commission (hereinafter – the Commission) undertakes a detailed analysis of EU Member States’ budgetary plans, macroeconomic and structural reforms and provides them with country-specific recommendations, which later on are considered and approved by the Council and which should be implemented by the Member States within the next 12-18 months. These recommendations also contribute to the objectives of the EU long-term strategy – job creation and economic growth, implementation of the "Europe 2020" strategy, and monitoring of their implementation is carried out in the context of the European Semester.

Cycle of the European Semester 

The Annual Growth Survey sets out proposals for EU priorities in the coming year, including the economic and fiscal policies and reforms needed to ensure stability and growth.

The Alert Mechanism Report identifies the Member States for which further analysis is necessary in order to decide whether an imbalance in

Country Reports analyse the economic situation and policies of each EU Member State and assess whether imbalances and excessive imbalances exist in those Member States where an in-depth review was carried out.

In National Reform Programmes the Member States provide information on the reforms under implementation and to be implemented and information on the measures for achieving the objectives set out in “Europe 2020” strategy.

In Stability/Convergence Programmes the Member States following the requirements established provide the up-to-date information on the budget and tax policy carried out and planned (the euro area Member States prepare Stability Programmes, non-euro area Member States – Convergence Programmes).

More information on the European Semester is available on the website of the Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/making-it-happen/index_en.htm

More information on the documents related to the European Semester is available on the website of the Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/economic_governance/sgp/legal_texts/index_en.htm