The European Semester

The European Semester is the framework for integrated surveillance and coordination of economic and employment policies across the European Union. Since its introduction in 2011, it has become a well-established forum for discussing EU countries’ fiscal, economic and employment policy challenges under a common annual timeline.

The European Semester timeline

The 2022 European Semester cycle
Autumn Package
Winter Package
National reform programmes and stability or convergence programmes
Spring Package
Putting recommendations into practice

The framework

Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure
Stability and Growth Pact
The European Semester explained

The European Semester in your country

European Semester documents for all EU Member States

The European Semester is being adapted to take into account the creation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The implementation of Member States’ recovery and resilience plans will drive their reform and investment agenda for the years ahead. The European Semester, with its broader scope and multilateral surveillance, will usefully complement the implementation of the recovery and resilience plans.

In light of the changes in the policy context after the COVID-19 crisis, the Commission relaunched in October 2021 the public debate on the review of the EU economic governance framework. The review’s aim is to improve the effectiveness of integrated surveillance and policy coordination in the EU within the European Semester. The public debate should help to achieve a broad-based consensus on the way forward. The 2022 European Semester cycle will be an opportunity to discuss the interactions between the European Semester and the Recovery and Resilience Facility with the Member States and relevant stakeholders to see if and how the future European Semester cycles and their deliverables could be improved.