European Semester Autumn Package: Working for a stronger and more inclusive economic recovery

The Commission today sets out its views on the EU’s economic and social priorities for the year ahead, building on the guidance from President Juncker‘s 2016 State of the Union address and on the latest economic data from the Commission’s Autumn 2016 Forecast. Today’s package starts the 2017 cycle of economic governance, the so-called European Semester. President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “The 2017 European Semester we start today will be decisive for Europe to manage its economic and social turn-around. I believe we can do it. This is why today the Commission is recommending a positive fiscal stance to support the recovery and the monetary policy of the European Central Bank, which should not bear the burden alone. Every Member State should play its part: those that can afford it need to invest more, while those which have less fiscal space should pursue reforms and growth-friendly fiscal consolidation.”