The European semester: a new architecture for the new EU Economic governance

The economic crisis has revealed a clear need for stronger economic governance and coordination at EU level. This is why the Commission proposed in 2010 to create a “European Semester”, a new governance architecture which was approved by the Member States on 7 September 2010.

The European Semester means the EU and the euro zone will coordinate ex ante their budgetary and economic policies, in line with both the Stability and Growth Pact (the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact is part of the European Semester) and the Europe 2020 strategy.

Each year the European Commission undertakes a detailed analysis of EU Member States' programmes of economic and structural reforms and provides them with recommendations for the next 12-18 months. The new approach was put into practice for the first time during the first half of 2011, the first “European Semester”. The Annual Growth Survey, published by the Commission in November 2013, launches the fourth European Semester.