Brussels, 09/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission will unveil detailed reports on the macroeconomic imbalances found in 13 member states, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The reports do not cover countries in receipt of financial aid - so Cyprus was not assessed in 2012. Germany is also not included because although its macroeconomic imbalances with the other member states have increased, they are lower compared with the eurozone because pay in Germany rises in line with productivity.
As EU finance ministers pointed out in February, there are positive signs of less macroeconomic imbalance in the European Union as a whole and also in the eurozone. Countries in deficit are becoming more competitive and gradually increasing their exports, but domestic demand remains low. The rising competitiveness of southern European countries is due to reform of the labour market (a process that is still ongoing). In December 2012, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said that countries could boost their competitiveness by means of structural reforms which will reduce the imbalances more rapidly (see EUROPE 10754). He said the effect of reducing current account surpluses in the countries in surplus helped, but was not an end in itself and is never an alternative to structural reforms in the countries in deficit. The improvement process for the imbalances is tough because it has a negative impact on growth and jobs in the short term in many countries, but is nevertheless an essential precondition for restoring sustainable growth in the long term, argues the Commission. In the European Semester process and its in-depth reviews, the Commission will make country-specific recommendations next month. (EL/transl.fl)