Recommendation for a Council Recommendation on broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides that Member States are to regard their economic policies and promoting employment as a matter of common concern and shall coordinate their action within the Council. In two distinct articles, it provides that the Council is to adopt broad economic policy guidelines (Article 121) and employment guidelines (Article 148), specifying that the latter must be consistent with the former.

Given this legal basis, the guidelines for employment and economic policies are presented as two distinct – but intrinsically interconnected – legal instruments:
- A Council Recommendation on broad guidelines for the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union – Part I of the Integrated Guidelines;
- A Council Decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States – Part II of the Integrated Guidelines.

The guidelines were first adopted together (‘integrated package’) in 2010, underpinning the Europe 2020 strategy. It was also decided in 2010 that the integrated guidelines should remain largely stable until 2014. Whilst the broad economic policy guidelines remain valid for any duration of time, the employment guidelines need to be drawn up each year. The guidelines, other than framing the scope and direction for Member States’ policy coordination, also provide the basis for country specific recommendations in the respective domains.

The current set of 'integrated guidelines' are to underpin the Europe 2020 strategy within the context of the new approach to economic policy making built on investment, structural reform and fiscal responsibility as set out in the Commission's 2015 Annual Growth Survey. At the same time, the integrated guidelines are to support the achievement of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and the aims of the European Semester of economic policy coordination.

See also:
- Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2015)99: Follow the progress of this recommendation through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2015:099:FIN

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