The EU has brought out its ‘2025 European Semester Spring Package’ with country-specific recommendation offering policy guidance to EU states with the aim of strengthening competitiveness, prosperity and resilience.
The package analyses the key economic and social challenges across the EU, promoting reforms and investments aligned with the EU’s priorities.
“This year’s European Semester Spring Package comes at a time when the EU continues to face remarkably high global uncertainty, trade tensions and grave security threats,” said Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis: ” … While the main focus of the European Semester remains fiscal sustainability and macroeconomic stability, it is likewise a key mechanism to coordinate our common push for competitiveness, security, resilience and sustainable prosperity.”
The 2025 country reports assess economic, employment and social developments in each Member State. States are encouraged to boost their competitiveness by closing the innovation gap, advancing decarbonisation in line with the Clean Industrial Deal, reducing excessive dependencies, increasing security and resilience, including by building up defence capabilities and promoting skills and quality jobs while ensuring social fairness.
This year’s country reports take stock of the implementation of recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) and Cohesion Policy programmes. With the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) ending in 2026, swift and targeted implementation is essential, with most Member States having to accelerate progress. In parallel, the Commission publishes today a Communication on the RRF towards 2026, to give guidance to Member States on a smooth and successful closure of the instrument. The Commission also seeks to accelerate cohesion policy delivery, focusing on strategic priorities from the mid-term review.
This year’s CSRs provide guidance tailored to the specific needs of each Member State. They reflect the scale and urgency of required action, across three key areas: (i) fiscal policy, including reforms to increase the effectiveness of tax policy and public expenditures, (ii) implementation of RRP and cohesion policy programmes, and (iii) outstanding and/or newly emerging structural challenges, focusing on the Competitiveness Compass.
Regarding Member States under excessive deficit procedure (EDP), the Commission considers that for France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia no further steps need to be taken under the EDP for these countries at this stage.
For Belgium, following the submission of its medium-term plan, the Commission has recommended a new corrective path, currently pending Council adoption. While Belgium’s projected net expenditure growth in 2025 exceeds the ceiling of this recommendation, it remains within the flexibility provided by the national escape clause.
In contrast, Romania’s net expenditure growth is significantly above the ceiling set by its corrective path, posing clear risks to correcting its excessive deficit by 2030. The Commission is therefore recommending that the Council adopt a decision that establishes Romania has not taken effective action.
The Commission has also assessed progress on the implementation of medium-term plans of 18 Member States. 12 Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Sweden) are assessed to be compliant with the recommended maximum net expenditure growth, taking into account flexibility under the national escape clause, if relevant. Portugal and Spain are broadly compliant, with limited deviations from their recommended paths. However, for Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the Commission sees a risk of deviation from the recommended maximum growth rates set by the Council.
Questions and answers on the 2025 European Semester Spring Package
