Promised report on integration of Single Market

In the entry Annual Growth Survey 2015 without Single Market integration report we found no follower to the 2013 and 2014 reports.

The integration reports had been based on the promise of annual reports and their function, made by the European Commission in the communication Better governance for the Single Market; Brussels, 8.6.2012 COM(2012) 259 final (page 5):

To this end, the Commission will prepare an Annual report on the integration of the Single Market. This report will present an analysis of the state of Single Market integration and look at the way the Single Market functions in practice, in particular in key areas and for key market actors, including businesses and consumers. To the maximum extent, it will measure how well the Single Market functions in these areas by making use of concrete benchmarks.

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The Annual Report will be part of the Annual Growth Survey, so as to be discussed by the Council and the European Parliament and be endorsed by the Spring European Council. The Annual report will contribute to the definition of country-specific recommendations, which will be based on a more in-depth analysis of performance in each Member State, in the context of the European semester process.

The blog posts Single Market integration 2013 report and Second Single Market integration report 2014 had told us that the European Parliament resolution P7_TA(2013)0054 had requested a legal act on Single Market governance and the resolution P7_TA(2014)0130 had reminded the Commission and explicitly called for the establishment of a Single Market Pillar of the European Semester.

If the Commission informs us about its response, we can return to the single market integration report as part of the Annual Growth Survey.

Ralf Grahn

Annual Growth Survey 2015 without Single Market integration report

We took leave of the first and the second Single Market Act, and the second Barroso Commission, through the blog posts Tracing Single Market Act proposals and Latest Single Market Act blog entries.

Still interested in improvement and governance of the internal market, in the entries Single Market integration 2013 report and Second Single Market integration report 2014 we saw that the Council and the European Parliament welcomed the integration reports, while calling for improvements.

The Parliament had even formally requested a legally binding act with detailed data, establishing  a Single Market Pillar for the European Semester and the Annual Growth Survey, as related in my Swedish blog post Europaparlamentet om styrningen av den inre marknaden.   

Juncker Commission: AGS 2015

After the elections to the European Parliament, the new Commission, headed by Jean-Claude Juncker, assumed office 1 November 2014. Soon after that, the Commission started the 2015 European Semester, by publishing its first Annual Growth Survey (AGS):

Annual Growth Survey 2015; Brussels, 28.11.2014 COM(2014) 902 final (20 pages)   

Based on an integrated approach, the Commission recommended three main pillars for the EU's economic and social policy in 2015 (pages 4-5):

• A coordinated boost to investment
• A renewed commitment to structural reforms
• Pursuing fiscal responsibility

But it was not immediately clear what the Commission meant by streamlining and reinforcing the European Semester process (page 5):

To implement the logic of the new integrated approach, the Commission proposes to streamline and reinforce the European Semester of economic policy coordination in support of the three pillars.

The renewed commitment to structural reforms (Section 3, from page 9) started with these general remarks:

Making the European economy more competitive and ensuring the right regulatory environment for long-term investment is crucial for growth. Structural reforms can help to attract private productive investment, particularly in network industries and smart manufacturing where investment needs are high. At EU level, this requires further deepening of the single market and avoiding unduly burdensome regulations, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises, improving access to finance and ensuring the quality of investment in research and innovation. At Member State level, these efforts have to be complemented by an ambitious implementation of structural reforms of product, services and labour markets.

Deepening and widening the internal market (single market) was very much on the Commission’s mind, as presented after each of these paragraph introductions for removing key barriers at EU level:

• Implementing the single market in goods and services is a priority.
• The Digital Single Market is essential for jobs, growth and innovation.
• Further structural reforms in energy markets are necessary to achieve a resilient Energy Union with a forward-looking climate change policy
• Ambitious action is required to ensure an EU regulatory framework supportive of jobs, growth and investment.

Regarding structural reforms at member state level, internal market substance and governance came to the fore in point four (page 13):

4. Improving the flexibility of product and services markets. Modernising the functioning of network industries, upgrading infrastructure capacity and further opening services sectors remains a challenge for most Member States, as shown the country-specific recommendation issued to the Member States in 2014, which put the focus on measures to improve the functioning of their network industries and to enhance competition in product and services sectors, notably as regards regulated professions. Effective enforcement of consumer legislation can also increase trust and create demand in the single market.

EU legislation provides a framework for modernisation at national level, and for making Europe more attractive and competitive as a whole. Member States have undertaken numerous reforms in the services sector following the entry into force of the Services Directive in 2006, but progress has been more uneven recently. The full implementation of the Services Directive would significantly improve the functioning of the single market for services and could lead to an economic gain of up to 1.6% of EU GDP in the long run on top of the 0.8% of EU GDP under the current level of implementation. The overall persistence of a high number of exceptions to the general principles foreseen by the Directive, together with lengthy reform processes in a number of Member States, are still weighing on the full implementation of the Directive and thus do not allow reaping its full benefits. Stepping up national reforms should focus on removing the following barriers: (i) disproportionate and unjustified authorisation requirements in some Member States, notably legal form and shareholding requirements; (ii) lack of clarity of domestic legislation as to the rules applicable to businesses providing cross-border services; (iii) lack of mutual recognition; (iv) cumbersome administrative procedures, with scope for improving the performance of the Points of Single Contact; (iv) uneven progress on the ongoing mutual evaluation of professional regulations and reforms of regulated professions; (v) remaining obstacles to the free movement of goods. The Commission will continue to work closely with the Member States to remove these barriers.

However, while discussing streamlining and reinforcing the European Semester (pages 16-17), the Commission said nothing about the single market integration report or a single market pillar for the Annual Growth Survey and European Semester. Neither did the more detailed annex on pages 18-19 or the graphic presentation on page 20.  

If we look at the Commission’s Europe 2020 web pages, we find that the Annual Growth Survey 2015 page mentions the following documents besides the 2015 AGS: the Alert Mechanism Report, its statistical annex, the Joint Employment Report, the annexes to the Joint Employment Report, as well as views from the social partners ETUC and European cross-industry employers.

Thus, it looks as if the 2015 report on single market integration as a part of the Annual Growth Survey (and the European Semester exercise) disappeared without a trace, despite the welcome and wishes for further improvement expressed by the Council and the European Parliament regarding the first (2013) and the second (2014) integration reports.

Ralf Grahn

Second Single Market integration report 2014

The second Annual Growth Survey (AGS) related report on the state of single market integration, for 2014, came under a slightly different name than the first one, presented in the blog post Single Market integration 2013 report:

A Single Market for Growth and Jobs: an analysis of progress made and remaining obstacles in the member states - Contribution to the Annual Growth Survey 2014; Brussels, 13.11.2013 COM(2013) 785 final (24 pages)   

The Commission started by underlining the need for deep structural reforms in Europe.  It recalled the proposals at EU level, but quickly brought on the need for internal market rules to work in practice (page 1):

The Single Market Acts I and II lay down a set of legislative proposals and other measures to boost growth and employment in Europe. The Commission has also issued recent proposals to further complete the digital Single Market. Swift adoption of all remaining proposals is needed to effectively unlock the full potential of the Single Market and make the Single Market fit for the 21st century.

For the Single Market to function well however, reforming the EU legislative framework is not sufficient. For citizens, consumers and businesses to effectively reap the benefits of the Single Market, rules must work in practice. Vigorous and consistent efforts are needed to ensure that markets function well and remaining barriers are lifted.

The aim of the report on single market integration was then presented, the focus shifting to the internal market reforms in the member states, where businesses and consumers feel the effects of obstacles (page 1):

This report aims at reviewing in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy the way the Single Market functions within the various Member States. It takes stock of where progress has been made since the start of the crisis and seeks to identify where bottlenecks remain and defines a set of policy priorities on that basis. The report thus contributes to the overall priorities set in the Commission's Annual Growth Survey 2014, and to the further identification of country-specific recommendations in the context of the European semester.

As in the first report on single market integration (for 2013), the second report (for 2014) focussed on key areas with the greatest growth potential: services, networks and the digital economy (page 1). These were discussed in the first part of the report, supported by studies about market performance and obstacle to EU integration. Each section was concluded by policy priorities:

• Services markets (pages 3-7)
• Financial services (pages 7-12)
• Energy markets (pages 12-14)
• Transport markets (pages 14-17)
• Digital markets (pages 18-21)

The second part of the report dealt with  the state of single market integration, based on an analysis of value chains, i.e. the supply and purchase of production inputs (pages 21-23), followed by a one page annex with an internal market enforcement table (page 24).

Competitiveness Council

The Competitiveness Council (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space) 2 and 3 December 2013 17141/1/13 REV 1 debated the European Semester 2014: industrial policy, single market and smart regulation (pages 10-11). With regard to the single market:

The Council adopted conclusions addressing three main strands that will lead to a better functioning internal market: governance of the single market; steps to unlock the full potential of the services sector and action to promote the transition to electronic procurement (16443/13).

Furthermore, the Commission presented the second edition of the annual "Single Market integration" report (16171/13).

The Council Conclusions on Single Market Policy 16443/13 started by emphasising single market governance. The Council greeted the single market integration report, but also wished for future improvements:

1. REITERATES that urgent measures are needed at the level of EU and Member States in order to boost growth and jobs and make Europe more competitive as a location for production and investment. RECOGNISES that deepening the Single Market by removing remaining unjustified barriers will be a key factor in order to achieve these objectives; HIGHLIGHTS the importance of streamlining existing structures in order to increase visibility and effectiveness of the Single Market policy.

2. WELCOMES the Annual Growth Survey and the second Annual Commission Report on the state of Single Market integration, and LOOKS FORWARD to a discussion on the policy priorities set out therein for both EU and Member State action.

3. AGREES that the results of the Annual Report should be fed into the European Semester process on a regular basis, both at EU and at Member State level. RECOGNISES the need for a stronger role of the High Level Group on Competitiveness and Growth in monitoring and providing guidance in that regard.  

4. NOTES that the analytical framework used as a basis for the Annual Report can still be strengthened with a view to getting a more comprehensive and operational picture as regards the functioning of the Single Market, including the application of its legal framework in the priority sectors for growth and jobs, and allowing for more evidence-based policy conclusions. INVITES the Commission to deepen the evidence base by also taking into account the perspective of businesses, in particular SMEs, and consumers.

5. WELCOMES the new online Single Market Scoreboard as a useful tool to monitor the application of EU law. INVITES the Commission together with Member States to put forward by the end of 2014, based on currently existing sources and data available to the Commission, a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators aimed at measuring inter alia the economic effects of application of the Single Market rules.

6. URGES Member States to properly and timely implement and enforce the rules of the Single Market so as to further unlock its growth potential. CALLS UPON the Commission for systematic monitoring of implementation and better enforcement of the Single Market rules, inter alia through the Country Specific Recommendations under the European Semester, in particular where those rules provide a significant contribution to the structural reforms.

7. HIGHLIGHTS the responsibility of the co-legislators and the Commission to ensure, throughout the legislative process, the consistency and quality of the EU legal framework without unnecessary regulatory burdens. The latter should be designed to enable businesses to sell goods and provide services everywhere in the EU, including online, without unjustified or disproportionate barriers. It should allow consumers to have access to the widest possible choice, whilst benefiting from a high level of consumer protection

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European Parliament

In the European Parliament, Sergio Gaetano Cofferati prepared a report for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on Single Market governance within the European Semester 2014 A7-0066/2014, which recalled that the IMCO Committee had drafted a legislative own-initiative report aimed at strengthening the governance of the Single Market so as to improve its functioning and contribute to driving forward the economic growth and job creation in Europe. A resolution with specific recommendations to the Commission was adopted in plenary on 7 February 2013.

[I mentioned the Andreas Schwab report A7-0019/2013 and the EP resolution P7_TA(2013)0054 with recommendations to the Commission on the governance of the Single Market in the Grahnlaw blog entry Single Market integration 2013 report and presented it in Swedish in the Grahnblawg post Europaparlamentet om styrningen av den inre marknaden.]

The European Parliament resolution of 25 February 2014 on Single Market governance within the European Semester 2014 P7_TA(2014)0130:

• welcomed improvements made between the Commission’s first and second report on single market integration, but
• called for further improvements, with regard to the Single Market as the third pillar of the European Semester,
• considered that key sectors identified by the Commission – services, financial services, transport, energy and the digital market – remained decisive, but
• also called for  a genuine European industrial policy, and
• found that the Commission had made improvements of the kind the Parliament had called for in its 7 February 2013 resolution.

Ralf Grahn

Single Market integration 2013 report

In the communication Better governance for the Single Market; Brussels, 8.6.2012 COM(2012) 259 final; the European Commission promised (page 5) an Annual Report on Single Market integration as part of the Annual Growth Survey, to be discussed by the Council and the European Parliament and be endorsed by the Spring European Council. The Annual report would contribute to the definition of country-specific recommendations, which would be based on a more in-depth analysis of performance in each Member State, in the context of the European semester process.

The European Parliament responded by its resolution of 7 February 2013 with recommendations to the Commission on the governance of the Single Market P7_TA(2013)0054, based on the IMCO report prepared by Andreas Schwab.

Based on the Parliament’s indirect right to propose - Article 225 TFEU - it asked for more:

1. Requests the Commission to submit as soon as possible, whilst considering as the possible legal basis all relevant provisions of the TFEU relating to the internal market, including Article 26(3) TFEU, a proposal for an act aimed at strengthening the governance of the Single Market, following the detailed recommendations set out in the Annex hereto;

Indeed, the annex contains detailed recommendations as to the content of the proposal requested (pages 14-19).  

Single Market integration 2013

At the end of November 2012 the Commission produced its report as a contribution to the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and the European Semester 2013 exercise:

State of the Single Market integration 2013 - Contribution to the Annual Growth Survey 2013; Brussels, 28.11.2012 COM(2012) 752 final (22 pages)  

The first AGS related Single Market integration report outlined the situation concerning goods, services, capital and labour, before moving on to explain where it thought the Single Market potential was the greatest (from page 7):

Based on a number of economic indicators, services, financial services, transport, digital market and energy have been identified as key areas for priority policy action and enhanced implementation of the Single Market.

The priority sectors were discussed in a more detailed manner, leading to policy priorities for each:

• Services markets (pages 9-13)
• Energy markets (pages 13-16)
• Transport markets (pages 16-18)
• Digital markets (pages 18-21)

Spring European Council 2013

In the Spring European Council conclusions 14/15 March 2013 EUCO 23/13, point  

9, the European Council promised to give specific emphasis to some issues. EUCO hoped the member states would act on the recommendations and it welcomed the Single Market integration report for future AGS exercises (9(b)):

(b) the Single Market continues to be a key driver for growth and jobs. In this context, the European Council invites the Member States to take full account of the recommendations in the Commission's report on the state of integration of the Single Market and welcomes the Commission's intention to integrate such reporting into future Annual Growth Surveys. ---

Ralf Grahn

European Council endorsed Annual Growth Survey 2012 priorities

The European Semester was kicked off by the Annual Growth Survey 2012 (AGS) Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final VOL. 1/5 (and the four annexes, Volumes 2-5).


EUCO conclusions

The conclusions of the spring European Council (EUCO) were brief and general in the fourth cornerstone paragraph:

4. For 2012, the European Council endorses the five priorities set out in the Commission's Annual Growth Survey for action taken at the EU and national level to:

– pursue differentiated, growth-friendly, fiscal consolidation,
– restore normal lending to the economy,
– promote growth and competitiveness,
– tackle unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis, and
– modernise public administration.

Synthesis report

When the European Council conclusions endorse the priorities proposed by the Commission, there is - if not a whole mountain - at least a molehill of views and conclusions behind each paragraph to inspire more detailed future policy work.

The Danish presidency prepared a shortcut: Implementation of the European Semester - Synthesis report (22 February 2012, Council document 6662/12).

However, the Synthesis report did not offer links to the various documents. Some readers may need to revisit the original and more detailed contributions submitted to the spring European Council, in order to find out what the five priorities set out in the Commission's Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and its annexes actually mean and require in the form of action.



Ralf Grahn
speaker on EU affairs, especially digital policy and law

P.S. Between the global issues and the national level, with a tenuous hold on democracy, the European Union institutions and the eurozone coteries shape our future. At the same time we see a European online public sphere emerging. Grahnlaw (recently ranked fourth among political blogs in Finland), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (meaning European Law, in Finnish) are among the more than 900 euroblogs aggregated by multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. Are you following the debates which matter for your future? Is your blog already listed on Bloggingportal?

EU2020 from failure to action

The heads of state or government reminded themselves of the comprehensive Europe 2020 growth strategy. In the European Council 1-2 March 2012 conclusions (EUCO 4/12, available in 23 languages) they assessed their own work to date:

3. However, efforts undertaken to date remain insufficient to meet most of these targets. It is therefore urgent to concentrate on the implementation of reforms, with a particular attention to measures which have a short-term effect on jobs and growth.

Insufficient reforms

The EU member states are lagging. Brownie points for honesty, although nothing more than the European Commission said in its second Annual Growth Survey 2012 (AGS), which kicked off the European Semester:

Annual Growth Survey 2012 VOL. 1/5; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (18 pages) 

Progress report on the Europe 2020 strategy VOL. 2/5 - ANNEX I; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (27 pages) 

Macro-economic report VOL. 3/5 - ANNEX II; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (21 pages) 

Draft joint employment report VOL. 4/5 - ANNEX III; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (16 pages) 

Growth-friendly tax policies in member states and better tax coordination in the EU VOL. 5/5 - ANNEX IV; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (13 pages) 

For those who think that the Commission is evil and biased, even the more recent (22 February 2012) synthesis report on the implementation of the European Semester (Council document 6662/12), prepared by the Danish Council presidency, is relatively open about less than brilliant progress (page 3):

The Annual Growth Survey shows that progress has been made in a number of areas, but much remains to be done.

In particular, measures announced or adopted during 2011 must now be implemented rigorously in all Member States. The economic climate makes this difficult, but should be seen as an incentive to further focus efforts, both at the national and the European level.

Returning to growth

Both the Annual Growth Survey 2012 and the Council synthesis report contained advice on further action. Let us here quote key points the Danish report made (pages 3-4):

Commitments regarding the objectives on poverty, education, innovation and green growth, in particular, should not be set aside while not endangering rigorous fiscal consolidation.

- Fiscal consolidation efforts have been undertaken by almost all Member States but further efforts appear necessary and, in several countries, medium-term budgetary frameworks remain to be strengthened. Ad hoc measures regarding VAT systems taken by some Member States have yet to produce results. There has only been limited progress across Europe as regards the shift of taxation away from labour. The coherence of the measures taken and their impact on growth and fiscal consolidation also remain to be analysed.

- Efforts to increase competitiveness are still needed, in particular, to increase competition in the retail, service and infrastructures sector. While the transposition of the Services Directive in Member States is progressing, more support needs to give to enhancing crossborder labour mobility including by revision of the EU rules on mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

- Improving the environment in which businesses, including SMEs, operate is important, in particular the reduction of unjustified administrative and regulatory burdens.

- Promoting employment is a key policy objective in all Member States. Nevertheless, in many countries, more could be done in terms of active labour market policies and to combat labour market segmentation and excessively rigid employment protection legislation, reform unemployment benefit systems to make work pay and enhance employability of vulnerable groups. Youth unemployment remains of critical concern. Progress on the inclusion of young people in the labour market is still insufficient in several countries.

- Dual training and other reforms are under way in education systems, but investment in education and training is affected by fiscal constraints in a number of Member States. Ensuring quality of public spending in these areas is a particular priority.

- Pension system reforms have been undertaken in some Member States and are under way in a number of others, but their impact is often hampered by early retirement opportunities and special schemes that are still in place.

- The number of people at risk of poverty is on the rise, and has not been effectively addressed. More focus on increasing labour market participation of vulnerable groups could help address this concern. Some countries still have to take action to address the interrelated issues of household indebtedness and housing markets.

Naturally, the countries with the greatest problems are the ones to need the fastest and most dramatic reform, although their past record is the least promising. However, given the sorry state of the economy in almost all of the EU member states, the need for structural reform in the European Union as a whole is profound.

The national leaders have spoken wisely. Now they must act.



Ralf Grahn
speaker on EU affairs, especially digital policy and law

P.S. Between the global issues and the national level, with a tenuous hold on democracy, the European Union institutions and the eurozone coteries shape our future. At the same time we see a European online public sphere emerging. Grahnlaw (recently ranked fourth among political blogs in Finland), Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (meaning European Law, in Finnish) are among the more than 900 euroblogs aggregated by multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. Are you following the debates which matter for your future? Is your blog already listed on Bloggingportal?

The European Council 1-2 March 2012 trailer (= synthesis report)

The only document submitted to the European Council 1-2 March 2012, according to the relevant EUCO web page, is the annotated draft agenda (English version, dated 23 January 2012). The latest EUCO background note is for the meeting 30 January 2012.

For the public, the preparatory work by the General Affairs Council (GAC) remains hidden. Hidden or scattered is how the rest of the input from the Council configurations and others can be described as well, despite many resolutions and letters specifically addressed to EUCO.


EUCO synthesis

Few have either the time or the inclination to go out on a wild-goose chase on the broken paper trail. However, many would profit from some sort of pre-view beyond the recycled agenda items.

What should you choose, if you have time for one document only?

The following paper from the Danish presidency of the Council of the European Union fits the bill, because it brings together a number of inputs in summary fashion:

Implementation of the European Semester - Synthesis report; Brussels, 22 February 2012, Council document 6662/12 (21 pages)

In addition to the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) from the Commission, which kicked off the European Semester 2012, and the recent resolutions by the European Parliament, various Council configurations have made contributions: Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN); Employment, social policy, health and consumer affairs (EPSCO); Competitiveness; Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (TTE); Environment; as well as Education, youth, culture and sport.

Even if links to the sources are not provided, the references are mostly specific enough to enable fairly easy search for those who want to dig deeper.



Ralf Grahn
speaker on EU affairs, especially digital policy and law

P.S. For better or for worse, between the global issues and the national level, the European Union institutions and the eurozone coteries shape our future. At the same time we see an emerging European online public sphere. Grahnlaw, Grahnblawg (in Swedish) and Eurooppaoikeus (in Finnish) are among the more than 900 euroblogs aggregated by multilingual Bloggingportal.eu. Is your blog already listed among them? Are you following the debates which matter for your future?

What is the EU doing for growth and jobs?

The European Council has repeatedly endorsed and called for a Digital Single Market, as well as other growth reforms. This quote comes from the conclusions 9 December 2011 (EUCO 139/11; page 1, point 2):

Recalling the key priority areas for growth it identified in October 2011, in particular, the Single Market Act, the Digital Single Market and the reduction of overall regulatory burden for SMEs and microenterprises, the European Council stressed the need to swiftly adopt the measures with the most potential to boost growth and jobs. It therefore supports the principle of a fast-track programme and invites the Council and the European Parliament to give particular priority to the speedy examination of the proposals identified by the Commission, including in its Annual Growth Survey, as having substantial growth potential. It endorses the actions proposed by the Commission in its report on minimising regulatory burdens for SMEs.

In most EU member states the government coffers are empty and for some countries public borrowing (even refinancing) has become prohibitively expensive. Despite the glide into recession, there is scant hope for massive stimulus through state budgets.

Governments are mainly left with the opportunity to undertake qualitative growth reforms, in order to unleash the potential for a return to economic growth, prosperity and job creation. The sooner, the better, but becoming competitive often means breaking societal taboos in the very member states where the reforms have been lagging.

Without going into the substance, here is a compilation of the main EU level programmes to engender growth and new jobs.


Reforms for growth and jobs

Competitiveness is a key concept. For the convenience of readers, here are a few sources regarding proposals and developments to unleash growth potential in the European Union.


Single Market Act

The Single Market Act – twelve levers to boost growth and strengthen confidence – and the latest developments.


EU2020 and flagship initiatives

The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, with seven flagship initiatives:

Digital Agenda for Europe, including the fresh Annual Progress Report 2011 (22 December 2011), where developments regarding the Pillar 1 aim ”A vibrant digital single market” are recorded on pages 2-6.

Innovation Union, including the report State of the Innovation Union 2011; Brussels, 2.12.2011 COM(2011) 849 final

Youth on the Move

A Resource-efficient Europe

An Industrial Policy for the Globalisation Era, including the monitoring report Industrial Policy: Reinforcing competitiveness; Brussels, 14.10.2011 COM(2011) 642 final, or the fuller version including SEC(2011) 1187. Also the European Competetiveness Report 2011.

An Agenda for New Skills and Jobs. Also the report Employment and Social Developments in Europe (15 December 2011), downloadable here.

European platform against poverty and social exclusion. Also the report Employment and Social Developments in Europe (15 December 2011), downloadable here.


Annual Growth Survey 2012

Annual Growth Survey 2012 VOL. 1/5; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final

The four AGS Annexes Progress Report on Europe 2020 (Volume 2), Macro-economic Report (Volume 3), Draft Joint Employment Report (Volume 4) and Growth-friendly tax policies in Member States and better tax coordination in the EU (Volume 5), are downloadable here.


Smart Regulation

The communication Smart Regulation in the European Union, Brussels, 8.10.2010 COM(2010) 543 final, is a part of the Better Regulation strategy. The recent report Minimizing regulatory burden for SMEs - Adapting EU regulation to the needs of micro-enterprises, Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 803 final, was endorsed by the European Council, as we saw above.




Ralf Grahn

EU Ecofin set European Semester in motion

Ronny Patz has recently blogged about how EU institutions can helpfully interact with human beings, or continue to operate like a permanent diplomatic congress where solidarity between governments is paramount.

From a slightly different angle we can look at the quality of what the institutions communicate, with an Ecofin sample earlier and having a new stab at quality assessment below.


European Semester 2012

The EU Ecofin Council was going to do its part to set the European Semester in motion, by hearing the Commission present the Annual Growth Survey 2012 (AGS).

The EU institutions enlighten us through the Ecofin conclusions:

3129th Council meeting Economic and Financial Affairs; Brussels, 30 November 2011 (provisional version, 17683/11; 26 pages)

On pages 8-9 the Council brilliantly copy-pastes and paraphrases what it already said in the background note (quoted in my blog post).

After reiterating that in March, the European Council will assess implementation of country-specific recommendations made under the 2011 European Semester and will provide macroeconomic and fiscal guidance for 2012, comes the scoop for the patient reader:

To this end, the Council asked the Economic Policy Committee and the Economic and Financial Committee to prepare conclusions for the Council's meeting on 21 February, to be submitted to the European Council.

I believe that the Committees would have acted without public prodding, but after Ecofin's intervention I am sure that the next round of fiscal consolidation and growth reforms in the EU member states is going to turn out a resounding success.



Ralf Grahn

EU: Ecofin and Annual Growth Survey 2012

The agenda of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council 30 November 2011 promises a presentation by the Commission of the Annual Growth Survey (AGS).

Here is a recent blog post about the second European Semester and AGS, with links back to the first round.

The Ecofin Council background note underlines the need for implementation of the guidelines this time around:

Annual growth survey

The Commission will present its annual growth survey, outlining priority actions to be taken by member states in order to ensure better-coordinated and more effective policies for putting Europe's economy on a path to sustainable growth (doc. 17229/11).

As the Commission's autumn economic forecasts show, economic recovery has come to a standstill and low levels of confidence are adversely affecting investment and consumption, due to a negative feedback from the sovereign debt crisis and a slowdown in the global economy. As a result, the outlook for growth in 2012 is gloomy and unemployment levels are likely to remain high. In such a situation, the Commission would have expected stronger progress in following up on last year's guidance. This year's annual growth survey therefore puts strong emphasis on the need for implementation.

For 2012, it suggests that efforts at national and EU levels concentrate on the following priorities:
- pursuing differentiated growth-friendly fiscal consolidation;
- restoring normal lending to the economy;
- promoting growth and competitiveness for today and tomorrow, with particular emphasis on the digital economy, the internal market for services and external trade, as well as better use of the EU budget;
- tackling unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis, in particular mobilising labour, supporting employment of young people and protecting the vulnerable;
- modernising public administration.

The annual growth survey constitutes the starting point for the European Semester, which involves simultaneous monitoring of the member states' fiscal policies and structural reforms, in accordance with common rules, during a six-month period every year.

The European Semester was implemented for the first time this year (it concluded in July) as part of a reform of EU economic governance. The 2012 European Semester will be the second such exercise; presentation of the annual growth survey has been brought forward this time, in order to facilitate implementation

In March, the European Council will assess implementation of country-specific recommendations made under the 2011 European Semester and will provide guidance for 2012.

Annual Growth Survey 2012

The Annual Growth Survey 2012 consists of five volumes, the AGS proper plus four Annexes (about 95 pages in all). This COM document is not available through the legal portal Eur-Lex (yet). You can probably get the best overview from the Europe 2020 web page Annual Growth Surveys - Annual Growth Survey 2012. Below in English:

Annual Growth Survey 2012 VOL. 1/5; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (18 pages)

Progress report on the Europe 2020 strategy VOL. 2/5 - ANNEX I; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (27 pages)

Macro-economic report VOL. 3/5 - ANNEX II; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (21 pages)

Draft joint employment report VOL. 4/5 - ANNEX III; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (16 pages)

Growth-friendly tax policies in member states and better tax coordination in the EU VOL. 5/5 - ANNEX IV; Brussels, 23.11.2011 COM(2011) 815 final (13 pages)

You can access the other language versions of the AGS 2012 web page through the menu in the upper right hand corner.

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The Annual Growth Survey 2012 and its Annexes are among the most important documents from the Commission with regard to the coming year at EU level and in the member states.



Ralf Grahn