Thank you. Good morning everyone. Yesterday we adopted and today we are presenting the second part of our European Semester Autumn Package.
This is the first European Semester cycle following the entry into force of the ambitious and comprehensive reform of the EU's economic governance framework which we finalised this year.
In November, we assessed the first set of medium-term plans, the draft budgetary plans of euro area Member States and took important steps under the Excessive Deficit Procedure.
Today, the Autumn Package is focused on:
promoting policy action that will benefit the euro area as a whole; monitoring macroeconomic imbalances; and the Semester's social dimension.
The EU is confronted with several structural challenges related to low productivity growth, population ageing and the green and digital transformation of our economy, all in a context of heightened global tensions and fragmentation.
If not addressed, those will hold back growth in the EU for years to come, threatening our long-term prosperity. So, urgent action is needed.
The policy guidance reflected in the Autumn Packages will support Member States to preserve macroeconomic stability while promoting growth, fiscal sustainability and improve their competitiveness.
Today's joint employment report also contains stronger country-specific analysis, as foreseen in the new economic governance framework.
Turning now to the euro area recommendation.
We are calling on Member States to take action to improve competitiveness and foster productivity across the euro area. Concretely, these actions include:
improving access to funding for businesses; promoting innovation; improving the business environment by reducing administrative burdens and regulatory complexity; removing obstacles to investment and supporting public and private investment in common priorities, such as the green and digital transitions and defence; further developing skills in the workforce.
Finally, the recommendation also calls on euro area Member States to comply with the new fiscal framework.
Sound public finances are a prerequisite for macroeconomic stability and sustainable economic growth. The new framework helps Member States to reduce public debt in a gradual and realistic way.
This brings me to the Alert Mechanism Report.
The report launches the annual macroeconomic imbalance procedure, which aims to detect, prevent and correct imbalances.
Three key findings:
First, cost competitiveness concerns remain relevant for some Member States. High inflation in the past years has put pressure on competitiveness, particularly where it was already weaker.
Second, we have seen a reduction in the high levels of debt in recent years, driven by high nominal growth. This effect is now fading out, and in some Member States public debt remains high and is projected to rise again.
Third, house prices require attention where they show signs of overvaluation and continue to increase.
Looking at individual Member States, we will again be carrying out in-depth reviews for the nine Member States identified last spring as having imbalances or excessive imbalances.
These are: Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden.
In addition, we will also carry out an in-depth review to assess the risk of newly emerging imbalances in Estonia. Estonia is experiencing a recession and faces accumulating cost competitiveness losses driven by strong cost pressures, a worsening current account, rising house prices and household borrowing.
The selection of Member States for in-depth reviews is a first step. It allows us to monitor the evolution of previously identified imbalances and assess the risk of newly emerging imbalances in the selected Member States.
We will present our conclusions on the existence of imbalances next spring.
The challenging global context in which we find ourselves underlines the importance of coordinating economic and social policies across EU Member States. The European Semester is and will remain the key tool for doing so. It will make a crucial contribution to achieving the new Commission's broader objective of competitiveness and productivity, while strengthening our social market economy.
The Draghi report highlighted the structural barriers that can hinder the achievement of our objectives. We will soon set out our proposals to address the challenges identified in the report – including our new competitiveness compass.
Looking further ahead, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is coming to an end in 2026. The Spring Package will see a gradual move to presenting a more comprehensive set of country-specific recommendations.
We will further strengthen our analysis and national ownership of these recommendations by basing them on the improved use of structured dialogues with Member States, social partners and other stakeholders.
This more comprehensive policy guidance will help to address the country-specific challenges identified in the context of the European Semester.
Thank you. I will stop here.
