Economic and Financial Affairs

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• Economic forecasts for Germany
  
  The Commission publishes macroeconomic forecasts for the EU and the Member States twice a year, in the spring (May) and in the autumn (November). These forecasts are produced by the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) and include a chapter on Germany. DG ECFIN also produces more limited "interim forecasts" in February and September, wich contain one-year projections of GDP growth and consumer price inflation for the euro area, the EU and seven large Member States, including Germany.
  
  
• Monitoring the budgetary situation in Germany
  
  

  Assessments of Germany’s stability programme
  
  As required by the Stability and Growth Pact, at the end of each year Gemany submits an update of the medium-term fiscal strategy it first presented in 1998. Euro area Member States submit stability programmes while countries outside the euro area submit convergence programmes. Based on an assessment by the Commission prepared by DG ECFIN, the Council adopts an opinion on each programme. All programmes of Germany, the related Commission assessments and Council opinions, as well as the working documents containing expanded assessments prepared by DG ECFIN, can be accessed here.
  
  Public finance report
  
  The Commission’s annual public finance report prepared by DG ECFIN – entitled "Public Finances in EMU" – includes a chapter on Germany.
  

  
  
  
• Germany and the euro
  
  Germany is a member of the euro area. It adopted the euro on 1 January 1999. More information about the euro area can be found here and about the changeover to the single currency in Germany can be found here.
  
  
• Germany and economic policy coordination in the EU
  
  As part of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs, Germany presented its 3-year national reform programme (NRP) in 2005 and reports each autumn on its implementation. The Commission analyses all Member States’ reports in its Annual Progress Report (APR) and proposes, as appropriate, country-specific recommendations. All available reports can be accessed here (NB this Europa subsite is not maintained under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs).
  
  
• Selected topics
  
  The Country Focus series produced by DG ECFIN provides a concise analysis, set within the broader economic and policy debate, of a topical economic issue concerning one or more Member State(s). Country Focus issues on Germany are listed below, the most recent first.
  
  

  German consumption: is there hope for a revival? (June 2008)
  
  Upswing in Germany: how long will it last? (April 2007)
  
  Germany's investment gloom: light at the end of the tunnel? (October 2005)
  
  Domestic gloom and export boom: a look at German competitiveness (April 2005)
  
  Transfers to Germany's eastern Länder: a necessary price for convergence or a permanent drag? (October 2004)
  
  Labour market reform in Germany: Fact or fiction? (February 2004)

  
  
  The Country studies series produced by DG ECFIN presents an in-depth analysis of an individual country’s economy. The study on Germany is entitled "Raising Germany’s growth potential".
  
  On 7 May 2008, the Commission adopted a Communication on "EMU@10: successes and challenges after 10 years of Economic and Monetary Union" (it was on 1 May 1998 that European Union leaders decided to launch the euro on 1 January 1999). The Communication, which takes stock of what has been achieved over the past ten years and makes proposals on the way forward, builds on an in-depth study by DG ECFIN. Both documents can be found on DG ECFIN’s EMU@10 website
  
  The EU Economy Review 2006 investigates how adjustment has been proceeding in the euro area and considers how the efficiency of adjustment could be improved in the coming years. Four aspects of the adjustment process are at the centre of the study:
  
  (i) shifts in the competitiveness of euro-area member countries;
  (ii) the impact of real interest rates on activity in member countries;
  (iii) the role of policies that affect the adjustment capacity; and
  (iv) an assessment of country experiences with adjustment.