Money for structural reforms in The eurozone: making sense of contractual arrangements

Both the Commission’s proposal for a ‘Competitiveness and Convergence Instrument’ and the ‘contractual arrangement’ presented by President Van Rompuy share a common concept: associating EU money with national structural reforms under a binding arrangement between the Commission and the contracting Member State. This document explores the concept of such ‘contracts’, notably discussing what is meant by ‘structural reforms’ and what the ‘financial support’ could consist in.