European Semester Winter Package: review of Member States’ progress towards economic and social priorities

The European Commission today publishes 27 Country Reports (for all Member States except for Greece, which is under a dedicated stability support programme), the annual analysis from Commission staff of the economic and social situation in the Member States, including an assessment of remaining imbalances. Also published today are: a report on the implementation of the Fiscal Compact, a report analysing the debt situation in Italy and a report, together with a proposal to the Council for a fine on a case of misrepresentation of statistics in Austria. The Country Reports show that Member States are making headway in implementing the individual policy guidance they received last year around the “virtuous triangle” of boosting investment, pursuing structural reforms and ensuring responsible fiscal policies. The report on the transposition of the Fiscal Compact shows that all parties to the Compact have by now introduced the substance of the Fiscal Compact in their national fiscal frameworks.