The country-specific recommendations issued by the European Commission aims at enhancing financial stability, boosting growth and creating employment across the EU. Among the key messages that emerge from this second set of annual country-specific recommendations, Member States are on the whole taking the necessary action to restore sustainability, but in several cases consolidation should be more growth-friendly.

The European Commission adopted a second package of recommendations for budgetary measures and economic reforms to enhance financial stability, boost growth and create employment across the EU. It has also presented the conclusions of twelve in-depth reviews in the context of the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure and made recommendations to the Council relating to the Excessive Deficit Procedure, and issued recommendations for the euro area as a whole. The first package of recommendations was presented in June 2011.

Among the recommendations, the Commission is recommending to the Council that the Excessive Deficit Procedure be abrogated for Bulgaria and Germany. It is also proposing a Council decision concluding that Hungary has taken effective action to correct its excessive deficit and that the suspension of its 2013 Cohesion Fund commitments be lifted.

With regard to public finances, the Commission considers in its analysis that Member States are on the whole taking the necessary action to restore sustainability, but in several cases consolidation should be more growth-friendly. Unemployment, and in particular youth unemployment, is a severe problem – and though there is no quick fix, immediate action should be taken to increase productivity and better match skills and training to labour market needs, stresses the European institution. In addition, it has also indicated the main steps towards full economic and monetary union, including a banking union; an integrated financial supervision and a single deposit guarantee scheme.