Brussels, 24/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - Although the Spring European Council will set out common strategic orientations for all member states on how to combine good budgetary housekeeping measures with reforms aimed at stimulating growth, the European Commission 2012 guidelines on the National Reform Programmes (NRP), three countries covered by the programmes (Portugal, Ireland, Greece) will not be affected by these guidelines. Romania will not be affected either as it is currently involved in a balance of payments assistance programme (see EUROPE 10560).
This was confirmed by the Commission document, a copy of which has been obtained by EUROPE. Guidance for the National Reform Programmes sets out the different criteria and objectives that all member states will have to comply with in their NRP. Nonetheless, it also stipulates that “countries subject to an EU/IMF lending programme do not need to submit an NRP and SCP (Ed: Stability/Convergence Programme,) for 2012, given that the regular reporting in the programme context largely satisfies the relevant reporting requirements”. These two roadmaps, in which the national authorities indicate the measures that they will be taking over the following 12 months, are not the same and do not have the same implications.
The 2012 NRP guidelines thus include a national objective for reducing poverty. This results both from the new criterion for tackling unemployment and social repercussions of the crisis, as included in the most recent “Annual Growth Survey for 2012” (AGS), and the general objective of reducing the number of people affected or threatened by poverty and social exclusion by 20 million by 2020. The objective of reducing poverty in the NRP must be quantified and be accompanied by a list of measures to be put in place to reach this objective. Similarly, an assessment of the impact of these measures also has to be drawn up. Member states are also called on to indicate “the main commitments in relation to each of to the AGS priorities”, which includes the final criterion on unemployment and social consequences of the crisis.
AGS priorities and the national objective of fighting poverty within the NRP resulting from it do not form part of the report that the four member states concerned are due to send to the troika (European Commission, ECB, IMF). This report is, above all, oriented towards reforms undertaken to reduce the budget deficit and public debt. The Commission's 2012 guidelines, indeed, call on these states to send it “a letter”, rather than an NRP, containing their “national EUROPE 2020 targets, state of play and any possible updates” but no reference is made to the AGS. It would appear that, for the Commission, even though all member states have to carry out their national policy in agreement with the 2020 strategy objectives, the exceptional economic conditions caused by the crisis are such that they do not perhaps all have to do so in the short term according to the same criteria. (JK/transl.fl)