EU countries still slow to act on economic reform recommendations, says EP study
27 Jun 2014 10:42 AM
On Friday the European
Council will adopt the 2014 country-specific recommendations for each EU member
state. MEPs regularly point out that the member state governments have been
slow to act on these recommendations. This view is corroborated by a new
European Parliament study showing that on average, only 18% of the 2011 and
2012 recommendations have been fully implemented.
In a resolution voted in October
2013, MEPs noted that for 2012, substantive action had been taken on only 15%
of the recommendations. Many member states, despite themselves endorsing
the recommendations at European Council summits, often lag behind when it comes
to putting their pledges into practice. Delaying reform inevitably undermines
the aim, set by EU heads of state, of better coordinating economic policy
across the EU.
A detailed study by the European
Parliament services, based on analysis by the IMF, the OECD and the European
Commission, shows that governments have on average "fully
implemented" 18% of the recommendations for 2011 and 2012 and done very
little or no work on 43% of them.
During the next Parliamentary
term MEPs are expected to monitor very closely how well governments deliver on
their reform commitments.
The resolution, the study and an
infographic summarizing its findings can be found at the links to the
right.
Background
The country-specific
recommendations, proposed by the Commission early in June and subsequently
adopted by the heads of state, are the backbone of "European
Semester" economic policy coordination, which is itself central to the new
economic governance structures put in place over the past three years. The
recommendations provide detailed pointers as to where each country should focus
its economic reform efforts for the year