Brussels, 31/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 7 June, the European Commission will present its recommendations on the national stability and growth programmes and national reform programmes that member states submitted to it at the end of April as part of the European semester (EUROPE 10289). It will then be up to the June European Council to endorse these recommendations. The Ecofin Council will subsequently adopt them in July, before member states integrate them into their 2012 budget drafts and structural reform programmes.
Recommendations from the European institution will be presented in the following way: a transversal document will establish an “overall analysis” on the basis of information sent by member states; 27 documents will outline recommendations for each EU country; a specific document will make recommendations for the eurozone; 28 economic analyses will be provided for each country and the eurozone. Deputy Secretary General of the Commission Michel Servoz said that documents on the eurozone would focus on the possible “contagion effects” of a measure adopted in one country on the whole of the eurozone. The Commission has also for the first time focused attention on macro-economic risks, such as real estate bubbles, in response to criticism. It has also examined the contents of the “Euro-Plus Pact”. Imposed by Germany in exchange for its participation in financial bailouts of over-indebted countries, this political document outlines a series of structural measures that 23 member states have decided to apply (EUROPE 10345). This is not part of the European semester.
What will happen if a country does not take into account the recommendations? The Commission has announced ongoing negotiations on the “economic governance” legislative package, which includes the possibility of introducing financial sanctions against countries infringing Stability and Growth Pact rules. With the sovereign debt crisis, “political pressure” exerted on member states will be strong. (M.B./transl.fl)