EMU: Format and content of stability and convergence programmes

Improved economic governance, or even economic government, is a hot topic in the European Union. In order to assess various suggestions (and refusals) it is useful to look at the current rules on multilateral budget surveillance in the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP).



The so called Code of Conduct (21 pages), was endorsed by the Ecofin Council 10 November 2009. It consists of two sections:

• Specifications on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact; and

• Guidelines on the format and content of Stability and Convergence Programmes



Both are of interest to those who want to know more about what the monitoring of economic policies entails.



The list of contents of the first section was put on view in the blog post EMU: Implementing the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP).

The second section of the Code of Conduct consists of guidelines on the content and format of the stability and convergence programmes:

SECTION II - GUIDELINES ON THE FORMAT AND CONTENT OF STABILITY AND CONVERGENCE PROGRAMMES

1) Status of the programme and of the measures

2) Content of Stability and Convergence Programmes


ANNEX 1 - MODEL STRUCTURE FOR THE STABILITY AND CONVERGENCE PROGRAMMES


ANNEX 2 - TABLES TO BE CONTAINED IN THE STABILITY AND CONVERGENCE PROGRAMMES

The Code of Conduct was endorsed before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force. Even without any substantive reforms of the procedures under the Stability and Growth Pact, the references to the old treaty provisions (TEC) will hopefully be substituted by references to the TFEU in the following update of the Code of Conduct.




Ralf Grahn