The European Commission presents the 2018 country-specific recommendations (CSRs), setting out its economic policy guidance for Member States for the next 12 to 18 months.

Europe’s economy is growing at its fastest pace in a decade, with record employment, recovering investment and improved public finances. According to the Commission’s 2018 Spring forecast, growth in the next two years will slow slightly but remain robust. The current favourable conditions should be used to make Europe’s economies and societies stronger and more resilient. The country-specific recommendations proposed today build on the progress already made in recent years and aim to capitalise on the positive economic outlook to guide Member States to take further action.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said: “Europe experiences the strongest growth in a decade and it is set to continue this year and next. However, new risks are emerging such as volatility in global financial markets and trade protectionism. We should use the current good times to strengthen the resilience of our economies. This means building fiscal buffers, which would give countries more manoeuvring space in the next downturn. This also means structural reforms to promote productivity, investment, innovation and inclusive growth.”

Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, said: “This year’s recommendations have a greater than ever focus on employment, education and social issues. This shows the Commission’s determination to focus on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights in all the Member States and improve working and living conditions for all European citizens.”

Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said: “Today we move a step closer to leaving behind us the legacy of the crisis, as France exits the Excessive Deficit Procedure after nine years. For the first time since the creation of the single currency, all euro area countries will have a deficit below 3% of GDP in 2018. It has taken years of responsible fiscal policies to bring EU countries to this point, and we must ensure that responsibility remains the name of the game in the future too. That’s why we address a strong message to Hungary and Romania that they should take action to this year and next to correct a significant deviation from their fiscal targets. Prevention is better than cure, and the time to prevent serious problems from emerging is now that the economy is strong.”

More information can be found here