About: European semester Archives
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Italy and Commission on collision course over budget
Italy and the European Commission are on a collision course over Rome's 2015 budget plan, which Brussels says flouts EU recommendations but Rome says it has no intention of changing, ahead of today’s (15 October) deadline.
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Commission to reject French budget
The European Commission is likely to reject France's 2015 budget draft at the end of October, and ask for a new one that would better reflect Paris's deficit reduction obligations under European Union rules, several eurozone officials said.
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Renzi clears hurdles over labour reform
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's success in staring down opposition from within his party over labour reform has delivered a symbolic political success but its impact on hiring and firing rules appears limited.
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Hollande urges ECB to ‘inject liquidity in the economy’
The European Central Bank and Germany must do more to boost growth and fight a "real deflationary risk" in Europe, French President Francois Hollande told the newspaper Le Monde in an interview.
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Study: EU countries ‘not interested’ in the Commission’s economic recommendations
Only 18% of the European Commission’s recommendations for economic reforms, aimed at paving the way to economic recovery, are actually implemented by the member states, according to a new study by the European Parliament.
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Brussels tells France, Italy to keep budget promises
The European Commission told France and Italy on Monday (2 June) to stick to their pledges to curb spending while reforming their economies, showing little sign of wavering on EU budget rules.
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EU prepares first ‘social monitoring’ report
As the European Commission prepares to issue its first-ever social policy recommendations in the framework of the strengthened European Semester of economic policy coordination, there are lingering questions as to what the whole process will actually achieve, with critics branding it a "communications exercise".
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EU summit wrap-up: Europe responds to Ukrainian crisis
EU heads of state gathered in Brussels on 20 and 21 March for their last summit before the EU elections in May, reaching an agreement on a European response to the crisis in Ukraine, energy and climate targets and more. Read our wrap-up of the European Council, below.
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Economic recovery picking up, but risks remain, Commission says
European Commission Vice-President Olli Rehn, responsible for economic and monetary affairs, told the European Parliament yesterday (25 February) that the EU economy was recovering overall, but warned of the risks of “protracted low growth” if structural reforms were not implemented.
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Live coverage: EU summit kicks off with budget deal
Having managed to reach deals on banks and the long-term budget, EU leaders have started their two-day summit somewhat relieved, as they embark on talks to tackle youth employment, finance much-needed investments and boost growth. EURACTIV obtained the draft conclusions. Read our live coverage, below.
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Commission spells out reforms to ‘move EU beyond the crisis’
The European Commission tabled yesterday (29 May) its “country-specific reports” with recommendations to capitals to boost competitiveness and make their economies more dynamic. In an apparent shift from austerity, this year's recommendations call on countries to be “more ambitious” in spurring growth.
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The EU must work for the people, not for the beauty of processes
The EU has tightened its grip on economic governance, but a wrong focus might prove poisonous, writes Renaud Thillaye.
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Minimum wages across Europe require solidarity
Minimum wages increasingly appear as proper tools to fight cross-border social dumping, argues Klaus Heeger, despite objections that the EU has little or no competence on pay.
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Commission fears for Spain and relieves Hungary
Spain faces spiralling debt unless its banking sector can be resolved the European Commission warned yesterday (30 May), in a series of country-specific reports totalling 1.500 pages, which also saw warnings sent to Cyprus and France.
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Andor endorses German calls for wage increases
László Andor, the EU's commissioner for employment and social affairs, yesterday (10 May) welcomed indications that Germany is prepared to bear inflation above the European Central Bank's target level and raise wages to help the struggling peripheral eurozone.
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EU warns member states over economic plans
The European Commission yesterday (7 June) slammed national economic reform plans for lacking ambition and concreteness.
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Delors backs competitiveness pact
A few weeks after France and Germany tabled proposals for a competitiveness pact among eurozone countries, Jacques Delors supported their political move and backed rewards for good budgetary behaviour.
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EU sets yearly targets for growth in member states
To help countries get their budgets in sync, the European Commission on Wednesday (12 January) unveiled its first annual list of growth targets. Member states will use these benchmarks to jawbone nations with risky spending policies to change their flagrant ways.
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The European Semester: What does it mean?
Besides reforming supervision of EU financial markets, a 'European semester' is to ensure from 2011 that national economic and fiscal policies are assessed in Brussels first before they are adopted by member states. 'What does this mean exactly?' asks Nicolaus Heinen, an analyst at Deutsche Bank (DB) Research, in a September analysis.