Guidelines for the Economic Policies of Europe 2020 (Recommendation)

Within the framework of the Europe 2020 strategy, Member States agreed to improve there coordination of their economic policies. To this end, the Commission recommends to the Member States guidelines to harmonise their economic policies. In shaping their economic and fiscal policies and in developing national reform programmes, Member States should act in line with these guidelines.

cepPolicyBrief

The coordination of economic policies would be unnecessary if the Commission were empowered to enforce Member State compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact. For an effective Stability Pact would impede macroeconomic imbalances upfront. Irrespective of this, the Commission’s recommendations regarding the removal of current account imbalances are appropriate. This applies notably to the proposal that Member States should consolidate their budgets and to the restrained wage policy.