The European Semester is an annual exercise that coordinates the EU’s economic and social policies.

During the Semester, EU Member States align their budgetary and economic policies with the objectives and rules agreed at EU level.

By strengthening economic and social coordination, the European Semester aims to ensure sustainable economic growth, job creation, macroeconomic stability and sound public finances across the EU.

The Semester calendar follows a recurring cycle, which begins in the autumn with the presentation of the economic and social priorities by the European Commission. It ends in October of the following year, when EU member states present their draft budgetary plans. Then the cycle starts again.

Thus, the Autumn Package marks the launch of a new cycle of the Semester.

With it, the European Commission presents several documents offering an overview of the socio-economic landscape, highlighting the main priorities and risks, as well as providing policy guidelines to help EU Member States achieve these objectives.

The Package is underpinned by the Autumn Economic Forecast, in which the Commission presents a report on the macroeconomic outlook for the EU as a whole and for its Member States.

As a rule, the Autumn Package includes the following documents:

• the Annual Sustainable Growth Review;
• opinions on draft budgetary plans;
• the draft recommendation on the economic policy of the eurozone;
• the Report on the Alert Mechanism;
• the proposal for a Joint Employment Report.

In addition, the autumn package may include other relevant documents related to the process. For example, previous packages have included post-programme surveillance reports assessing the repayment capacity of Member States that have benefited from financial assistance programmes.

After the publication of the Autumn Package, scheduled for the last week of November, the European Commission forwards the documents to the other EU institutions and the Member States for analysis.

In December, the Eurogroup discusses the opinions on the draft budgetary plans. Member states adopt their national budgets for the following year, taking into account the Commission’s opinions and the Eurogroup debate.

Between January and February, the Council discusses and adopts conclusions on the Annual Sustainable Growth Review and the Alert Mechanism Report. It also approves, with possible amendments, the draft Council recommendation for the eurozone, which is then presented to the European Council. The European Parliament also deliberates on the Annual Review, with the possibility of publishing an own-initiative report.

In March, the Council adopts the Joint Employment Report with conclusions. The European Council discusses and approves the Council recommendation on the economic policy of the eurozone.

The European Commission presents its budgetary policy guidelines for the following year.

The Action Plan for Growth and Jobs, the Council recommendation and the Commission guidelines form a common framework for the national policy plans due to be presented in April.

In May, the Commission is due to present the Spring Package of the European Semester, which provides economic and budgetary guidance to Member States following the assessment of the medium-term budgetary structural plan or its progress report.

Our team is at your disposal for more information.