IPOL
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES
EGOV
ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE SUPPORT UNIT
AT A GLANCE
The legal nature of Country Specific Recommendations
The Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) that are proposed each year by the European
Commission (COM) within the framework of the European Semester provide integrated guidance
on macro-fiscal and macro-structural measures to EU Member States. These recommendations are
based on the COM assessment of Member States' medium-term budgetary plans and economic
reform programmes in light of broad policy priorities outlined in the Annual Growth Survey. The
COM also addresses policy recommendations to the euro area as a whole in accordance with
Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The CSRs are politically binding insofar they are endorsed by the European Council and formally
adopted by the Council. The Council is expected to, as a rule, adopt the recommendations proposed
by the Commission or publicly explain its position.
From the legal perspective, the CSRs are underpinned by the EU primary legislation (Articles 121
and 148 of the TFEU) as well as the EU secondary legislation, namely:
1) Council Regulation (EC) 1466/97 on the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary
positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies for CSRs referring to the
Stability and Growth Pact (SGP);
2) Regulation (EU) 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances for
CSRs referring to the Macroeconomic Imbalance procedure (MIP);
3) Integrated guidelines for implementing the Europe 2020 strategy – these guidelines consist of
two legislative documents: (1) a Council recommendation on broad guidelines for the economic
policies of the Member States and of the Union and (2) a Council decision on guidelines for the
employment policies of the Member States.
As shown in Tables 1 and 2, a single recommendation is typically underpinned by a single
instrument of the EU secondary law. However, CSRs related to sustainability of public finances
might refer to both the SGP and the MIP.
Table 1: Number of CSRs by secondary legal base
European
Exclusively
Exclusively
Jointly
Semester
SGP
MIP
SGP and MIP
2012
18
(13%)
31
(22%)
5
(4%)
2013
18
(13%)
50
(35%)
6
(4%)
2014
19
(12%)
58
(37%)
8
(5%)
2015
11
(11%)
48
(47%)
10
(10%)
2016
13
(15%)
36
(40%)
9
(10%)
Source: European Commission and EGOV calculations.
Note: Share of CSRs by secondary legal base for a given Semester cycle
formally adopted by the Council in July 2016.
Integrated
Guidelines
84
(61%)
67
(48%)
72
(46%)
33
(32%)
31
(35%)
Total
138
141
157
102
89
(100%)
(100%)
(100%)
(100%)
(100%)
in brackets. The 2016 CSRs are to be
The CSRs are to be taken into account by Member States in the process of national decision-making
and, in particular, in drafting the budgetary plans for the forthcoming year. A failure to implement
the recommendations might result in further procedural steps under the relevant EU law and
ultimately in sanctions under the SGP and the MIP. These sanctions might include fines and/or
suspension of up to five European Funds, namely the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Agricultural
Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime & Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
7 June 2016
Author: M. Hradiský, contact: egov@ep.europa.eu
PE 528.767
Table 2: Number of CSRs by secondary legal base per Member State (European Semester 2012-2016)
²
Member State
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
Ireland
Greece
Spain
France
Croatia
Italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Hungary
Malta
Netherlands
Austria
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Finland
Sweden
UK
Total
Total CSRs
2012
7
7
6
5
4
5
‒
‒
8
5
‒
6
7
7
6
5
7
6
5
7
6
‒
‒
7
7
5
4
6
138
2013
7
7
7
3
4
5
‒
‒
9
6
‒
6
‒
7
6
6
7
5
4
7
7
‒
8
9
6
5
4
6
141
2014
6
6
7
3
4
5
7
‒
8
7
8
8
‒
5
6
5
7
5
4
5
6
8
8
8
6
5
4
6
157
CSRs based exclusively on SGP
2015
4
5
4
2
3
3
4
‒
4
6
6
6
‒
4
3
3
5
4
3
4
4
5
4
4
4
4
1
3
102
2016
3
4
3
2
3
2
3
‒
4
5
5
5
5
3
3
2
3
2
3
3
3
5
4
4
3
3
1
3
89
2012
0
1
1
1
1
1
‒
‒
0
1
‒
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
‒
‒
1
1
1
1
1
18
2013
0
1
1
1
1
1
‒
‒
0
0
‒
0
‒
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
‒
1
0
2
1
1
1
18
2014
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
‒
0
0
0
0
‒
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
19
2015
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
‒
0
0
0
0
‒
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
11
2016
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
‒
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
13
CSRs based exclusively on MIP
2012
3
2
0
3
0
0
‒
‒
4
3
‒
3
2
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
‒
‒
3
0
1
1
3
31
2013
4
3
0
1
0
0
‒
‒
7
5
‒
5
‒
0
0
0
5
2
1
0
0
‒
0
8
0
3
2
4
50
2014
3
3
0
0
3
0
3
‒
6
5
7
7
‒
0
0
0
3
0
2
0
0
0
0
7
0
3
2
4
58
2015
3
3
0
0
3
0
1
‒
3
5
5
5
‒
0
0
0
2
0
3
0
0
3
3
4
0
2
1
2
48
2016
0
3
0
0
3
0
1
‒
3
4
4
4
4
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
4
0
2
0
2
1
0
36
CSRs based jointly on SGP and MIP
2012
1
0
0
0
0
0
‒
‒
1
0
‒
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
‒
‒
0
0
0
0
0
5
2013
1
0
0
0
0
0
‒
‒
1
1
‒
1
‒
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
‒
0
1
0
0
0
0
6
2014
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
‒
1
1
1
1
‒
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
8
2015
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
‒
1
1
1
1
‒
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
10
2016
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
‒
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
9
CSRs based exclusively on Integrated
Guidelines
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
3
2
2
0
2
4
3
2
1
0
5
6
6
3
3
1
1
2
1
1
3
3
0
0
0
4
4
4
2
2
‒
‒
2
1
1
‒
‒
‒
‒
‒
3
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
‒
‒
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
4
‒
‒
‒
0
6
6
4
3
2
5
5
5
2
2
4
5
4
3
2
3
1
3
2
2
5
2
4
3
1
4
2
1
0
1
6
6
4
3
2
5
6
5
3
2
‒
‒
7
1
0
‒
7
7
0
3
3
0
0
0
1
6
4
5
4
2
3
1
1
1
0
2
1
1
0
0
2
1
1
0
2
84
67
72
33
31
Source: European Commission and EGOV calculations.
Note: (1) The 2016 CSRs are to be formally adopted by the Council in July 2016.
(2) Croatia joined the EU on 1 July 2013 and took part in the 2013 European Semester on a voluntary and informal basis.
(3) Member States whose currency is the euro should, in addition to the country specific recommendations, ensure the full and timely implementation of the recommendations addressed by the
Council to all Member States of the Euro area.
(4) Member States subject to a macroeconomic adjustment programme are in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation No 472/2013 exempted from the monitoring and assessment under the
European Semester.
DISCLAIMER: This document is drafted by the Economic Governance Support Unit (EGOV) of the European Parliament based on publicly available information and is provided for information purposes only. The opinions
expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised,
provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. © European Union, 2016
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PE 528.767