STUDY EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service
Author: Stanislas de Finance European Council Oversight Unit
PE 547.558- May 2015
Country-Specific Recommendations: Scorecard for 2013
How far are EU Member States meeting their European Council
commitments?
PE 547.558 2
PE 547.558 1
Country-Specific Recommendations: Scorecard for 2013
How far are EU Member States meeting their European Council commitments?
Abstract The European Council Oversight Unit within the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) has undertaken a detailed analysis of the implementation of the 2013 Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) in the framework of the 2013 European Semester. Endorsed by the European Council and then adopted by the EU Council of Finance Ministers (Ecofin), the CSRs) aim at boosting sustainable economic growth and jobs while ensuring soundness of Member States’ public finances. They relate to four broad policy areas: public finances, the financial sector, structural reforms and employment and social policies. Results show that implementation of the CSRs by EU Member States dropped significantly in 2013. Only 11% of the CSRs were fully addressed, compared to an average of 18% in 2011-2012. Conversely, the rate of 'no implementation' rose to 55% in 2013, from 43% in 2011-2012. Member States put the greatest effort into addressing CSRs related to the financial sector. The 'no implementation' rate of the 2013 CSRs related to other policy areas – namely, public finances, employment and social policies, and structural reforms - is higher than 50%.
PE 547.558 2
AUTHOR Stanislas de Finance, European Council Oversight Unit ABOUT THE PUBLISHER This paper has been drawn up by the European Council Oversight Unit of the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, within the Directorate–General for Parliamentary Research Services (DG EPRS) of the European Parliament. To contact the author, please e-mail: [email protected] LANGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN DISCLAIMER The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. It is addressed to the Members and staff of the EP for their parliamentary work. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. This document is available on the internet at: www.europarl.eu/thinktank Manuscript completed in May 2015. Brussels © European Union, 2015. PE 547.558 ISBN: 978-92-823-7136-7 DOI: 10.2861/078262 CAT: QA-02-15-478-EN-N
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Table of contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4
2. Results for 2013 ............................................................................................................. 8
3. Analysis by Member State ........................................................................................ 13
Belgium (BE) ................................................................................................................... 13
Bulgaria (BG)................................................................................................................... 16
Czech Republic (CZ) ...................................................................................................... 19
Denmark (DK) ................................................................................................................ 21
Germany (DE) ................................................................................................................. 22
Estonia (EE) ..................................................................................................................... 24
Spain (ES) ........................................................................................................................ 26
France (FR) ...................................................................................................................... 31
Italian (IT) ........................................................................................................................ 34
Latvia (LV) ...................................................................................................................... 37
Lithuania (LT) ................................................................................................................. 39
Luxembourg (LU) .......................................................................................................... 41
Hungary (HU) ................................................................................................................ 43
Malta (MT) ...................................................................................................................... 47
The Netherlands (NL) .................................................................................................... 49
Austria (AT) .................................................................................................................... 50
Poland (PL) ...................................................................................................................... 52
Slovenia (SI) .................................................................................................................... 55
Slovakia (SK) ................................................................................................................... 60
Finland (FI) ...................................................................................................................... 63
Sweden (SE) .................................................................................................................... 65
United Kingdom (UK) ................................................................................................... 67
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1. Introduction This study provides an evaluation of the implementation of the European Union’s 2013 Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) on a multi-source basis in the framework of the 2013 European Semester (Council Regulation (EC) 1466/97). The European Semester1 - which followed on from the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines adopted by the Council (on the basis of Article 121 TFEU) - was institutionalised by the 'six-pack' legislation of 2011 (Regulation 1175/2011), with the aim of coordinating and monitoring the economic and employment policies of EU Member States. The European Commission was given a mandate to check whether the Member States take action on the various reform commitments they undertake at EU level. Country-Specific Recommendations (adopted on the basis of Articles 121 and 148 TFEU) aim at boosting sustainable economic growth and jobs while ensuring soundness of Member States’ public finances. They relate to four broad policy areas:
• public finances - namely, sound public finances, pension and health-care systems, the fiscal framework and taxation. Some recommendations may refer to the Stability and Growth Pact (Article 5(2) of Council Regulation (EC) 1466/97);
• the financial sector - namely, banking and access to finance, and the housing market;
• structural reforms - namely, network industries, competition in the service sector, public administration and smart regulation, research and development, and innovation and resource efficiency; and
• employment and social policies - namely, labour-market participation, active labour-market policies, wage-setting mechanisms, labour-market segmentation, education, poverty and social exclusion.
1 The European Semester is an annual cycle that begins with the publication of the Annual Growth Survey (AGS) and the Alert Mechanism Report (AMR) by the European Commission in November. In April, Member States submit their Stability or Convergence Programmes and National Reform Programmes which are, in turn, assessed by the Commission. Then the Commission proposes Country-Specific Recommendations, which are subsequently endorsed by the European Council and adopted thereafter by the Council of the European Union.
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In addition to the Stability and Growth Pact, some recommendations in the above-mentioned policy areas may relate to the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (based on Article 6(1) of Regulation 1176/2011) and the Europe 2020 Strategy, which is the EU’s ten-year growth strategy launched in 2010 and endorsed by the European Council. On the basis of proposals for Council recommendations tabled by the European Commission, the 2013 CSRs were adopted by the EU Council of Finance Ministers (Ecofin Council) on 9 July 2013, after endorsement by the European Council at its meeting of 27-28 June 2013. At the latter meeting, the EU Heads of State or Government declared that:
"... the European Council concluded the 2013 European semester by generally endorsing the country-specific recommendations. Member States will now translate the recommendations into their forthcoming decisions on budgets, structural reforms and employment and social policies, while promoting full national ownership and preserving social dialogue"2.
This EPRS evaluation of the 2013 CSRs has been carried out on the basis of three categories, using a traffic light color-coded system:
• 'full implementation' – where actions taken by a Member State's authorities fully address the recommendation and measures are (almost) fully implemented, including all legal aspects;
• 'good progress underway, but more efforts required' - where the authorities took policy actions going in the right direction to address the recommendation; implementation of those measures may have already started but more efforts are required to fully address the CSR in an appropriate way; and
• 'no implementation' - where actions taken by the authorities to address the recommendation (if any) either do not go in the right direction or are insufficiently relevant and/or specified and/or are mere promises for the future.3
2 See EUCO 104/2/13. 3 Admittedly, limiting the evaluation to three categories may imply some degree of simplification as a few CSRs and national policy actions are of a more qualitative nature and are therefore complicated to measure and/or quantify. At the same time, some measures introduced by national authorities might have an impact only in the medium to long term. National authorities may also have opted for alternative measures to achieve the same goals.
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As each CSR covers many policy actions which may differ substantially from one another, dividing them into very detailed sub-sections facilitates and enhances the assessment. Throughout the analysis, an equal weight is put on each CSR sub-section regardless of its nature or its actual or potential impact. This study focuses on 22 EU Member States for which an IMF Country Report and/or an OECD Economic Survey was published in 2014. EU Member States which were under an Economic Adjustment Programme - namely, Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus - cannot be covered by this analysis, as the Commission did not issue any CSRs for them in 2013. Romania is not covered either as it was under an EU/IMF financial assistance programme. Note that this evaluation is carried out after an average period of 18 months following the adoption of the 2013 CSRs by the Council in July 2013. This intential time lag offers a more accurate window to take stock actual efforts made by EU Members States over a longer period.
Box 1: Streamlining and strengthening economic governance
Against the backdrop of the ‘six-pack’ and ‘two-pack’ reviews, the Commission decided to overhaul the functioning of the European Semester as highlighted in the 2015 Annual Growth Survey (AGS) published in late November 2014. The Commission’s own output has been indeed simplified as of the 2015 European Semester: in late February, it releases Country Reports, which analyse economic policies of EU Member States and the euro area as a whole. They simultaneously include an evaluation of potential progress made by Member States in addressing last year’s Country-Specific Recommendations and in-depth reviews for all EU Member States identified in the Alert Mechanism Report and assessing potential internal and/or external (excessive) imbalances, in line with the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure. Compared to the previous Semesters, those country-specific documents are presented three months earlier than the usual Staff Working Documents, which used to be released together with the new set of CSRs. The Commission believes that this would strengthen involvement of national Parliaments, social partners and all key stakeholders and reinforce communication and ownership role at national level of the European Semester process.
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This analysis is based on the following sources:
• National Reform Programmes (NRPs) and Stability or Convergence Programmes (SCPs) submitted by the Member States in April 2014. Those documents - linked to the Stability and Growth Pact and employment guidelines - also provide a description of measures taken by the government concerned in response to the 2013 CSRs;
• IMF Country Reports (Article IV Consultation), which are usually released on a yearly basis. In these documents, the IMF undertakes an analysis of the country's current macroeconomic and financial situation while issuing recommendations and providing a broad assessment;
• In addition, the IMF often releases a Selected Issues paper (IMF SI) attached to the Country Report, which focuses on specific economic and financial issues;
• OECD Country Economic Surveys (OECD), which are published every two years. Those surveys not only highlight all recent macroeconomic and financial developments but also put emphasis on economic and social policies aimed at boosting the country's long-term growth prospects. At the end of the document, the OECD outlines specific recommendations in a wide range of policy areas and detail all relevant measures taken by the authorities over the last two years in response to recommendations;
• The 2014 Commission Staff Working Document (COM), which provide a detailed analysis of the implementation of the 2013 CSRs.
It should be noted that the IMF and the OECD do not assess the exact implementation of the CSRs adopted by the Council. Nonetheless, their own recommendations are very similar, and their reports bring further crucial elements to the analysis, in addition to the Commission Staff Working Documents. The remainder of this study is structured as follows: Section 2 outlines the overall results CSR implementation in 2013. It is followed by a detailed country-by-country analysis in Section 3.
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2. Results for 2013
2016
11
45 42
55
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2011 2012 2013
%
Figure 1: Average EU levelof implementation of Country-Specific
Recommendations
Full implementation No implementation Source: Author's analysis based on NRPs, SCPs, Commission, IMF, OECD and Eurostat. Note: Sample of 23 Member States for the analysis of the 2011-2012 CSRs and 22 Member States for the analysis of the 2013 CSRs.
This detailed analysis shows that implementation of the CSRs by EU Member States continued to lose momentum last year. Only 11% of the CSRs were fully addressed in 2013 compared to an average 18% in 2011-12 (Figure 1). Conversely, the rate of 'no implementation' rose to 55% from 43% in 2011-12. This echoes the statement of ECB President Mario Draghi at the ECB Governing Council meeting of 2 October 2014:
"… in order to strengthen investment activity, job creation and potential growth, other policy areas need to contribute decisively. In particular, the legislation and implementation of structural reforms clearly need to gain momentum in several countries. This applies to product and labour markets as well as to actions to improve the business environment for firms. As regards fiscal policies, euro area countries should not unravel the progress already made and should proceed in line with the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact. This should be reflected in the draft budgetary plans for 2015 that governments will now deliver, in which they will address the relevant country-specific recommendations. The Pact should remain the anchor for confidence in sustainable public finances, and the existing flexibility within the rules should allow governments to address the budgetary costs of major structural reforms, to support demand and to achieve a more growth-friendly composition of fiscal policies."
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15
33
5 7
58
41
5159
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Public finances Financial sector
Employment / Social policies
Structural reforms
%Figure 2: Implementation of the 2013
CSRs by policy area
Full Implementation No Implementation Source: Author's analysis, based on NRPs, SCPs, Commission, IMF, OECD and Eurostat.
A detailed breakdown by policy area reveals that Member States put the greatest effort in addressing the CSRs related to the financial sector (Figure 2). However, the 'no implementation' rate of the 2013 CSRs related to other areas (namely, public finances, employment and social policies and structural reforms) is higher than 50%. Figures 3 and 4 provide a breakdown by Member States of the 'full implementation' and 'no implementation' rates.
36
1714 14 13 13 13 13 12 11 11
10 10 9 8 8 76 6 6 5 4
00
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Spai
nM
alta
Finl
and
Swed
enLa
tvia
Slov
enia
Aus
tria
Net
herl
ands
Lith
uani
aEs
toni
aEU
ave
rage
U.K
.Be
lgiu
mG
erm
any
Den
mar
kFr
ance
Cze
ch R
ep.
Luxe
mbo
urg
Slov
akia
Pola
ndIt
aly
Hun
gary
Bulg
aria
% Figure 3: Full implementation of the CSRs2013
2011-2012 average
Source: Author's analysis, based on NRPs, SCPs, Commission, IMF, OECD and Eurostat.
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7974 71
68 68 67 6562 60
56 55 55 53 52 50 5046 43 43
3833
29
14
0
20
40
60
80
100
Bulg
aria
Slov
akia
Cze
ch R
ep.
Belg
ium
Ger
man
ySl
oven
iaLu
xem
b…Li
thua
nia
Hun
gary
Pola
ndIt
aly
EU a
vera
geFr
ance
Esto
nia
Den
mar
kSw
eden
Aus
tria
Mal
taLa
tvia
Net
herl
a…Sp
ain
U.K
.Fi
nlan
d
% Figure 4: No implementation of the CSRs
2013
2011-2012 average
Source: Author's analysis, based on NRPs, SCPs, Commission, IMF, OECD and Eurostat.
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2011-2012 2013 2011-2012 2013 2011-2012 2013Belgium 7 10 29 23 63 68Bulgaria 16 0 26 21 58 79
Czech Rep. 13 7 35 21 52 71Denmark 30 8 33 42 37 50Germany 9 9 38 23 53 68Estonia 17 11 60 37 23 52Spain 35 36 41 31 24 33
France 3 8 48 39 48 53Italy 23 5 60 40 17 55
Latvia 28 13 52 43 20 43Lithuania 22 12 53 27 25 62
Luxembourg 15 6 40 29 45 65Hungary 20 4 30 36 50 60
Malta 9 17 31 39 60 43Netherlands 26 13 48 50 26 38
Austria 16 13 35 42 49 46Poland 13 6 38 39 50 56
Slovakia 23 6 26 21 51 74Slovenia 7 13 30 20 64 67Finland 17 14 59 71 24 14Sweden 24 14 53 36 24 50
United Kindgom 17 10 33 61 50 29EU average 18 11 39 34 43 55
Full implementationGood progress
underway but more effort required
No implementation
Table 1: Level of implementation of the CSRs (%)
Source: Author's analysis, based on NRPs, SCPs, Commission, IMF, OECD and Eurostat Note: All CSR sub-parts are equally weighted regardless of their nature and actual/potential impact.
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Belgium 13 63 N/A N/A 0 71 13 75Bulgaria 0 67 0 100 0 93 0 72
Czech Rep. 14 79 N/A N/A 0 50 0 83Denmark 50 0 N/A N/A 0 43 0 100Germany 17 83 0 100 0 71 13 50Estonia 17 50 N/A N/A 8 46 13 63Spain 40 40 100 0 23 31 35 30
France 0 73 N/A N/A 23 31 0 50Italy 10 60 25 0 0 54 0 69
Latvia 20 20 100 0 8 62 9 36Lithuania 17 67 N/A N/A 0 78 20 20
Luxembourg 9 73 N/A N/A 0 33 0 67Hungary 0 63 20 40 0 54 9 73
Malta 20 50 100 0 0 20 0 67Netherlands 25 25 0 100 0 0 N/A N/A
Austria 30 30 0 50 0 38 0 100Poland 0 71 100 0 0 42 0 67
Slovakia 18 55 N/A N/A 0 85 0 80Slovenia 0 88 56 44 17 50 0 67Finland 50 0 N/A N/A 0 50 0 0Sweden 33 50 0 75 0 25 N/A N/A
United Kindgom 0 57 17 33 13 0 0 25EU average 15 58 33 41 5 51 7 59
Public Finances Financial sectorEmployment & Social
policies Structural reforms
Table 2: Level of implementation of the 2013 CSRs by specific policy area (%)
Source: Author's analysis, based on NRPs, SCPs, Commission, IMF, OECD and Eurostat Note: the green columns refer to 'full implementation (%)' whereas the red columns refer to 'no implementation (%)'
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3. Analysis by Member State BE
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
1. Adopt additional measures to achieve the structural adjustment effort specified in the Council Decision to give notice to correct the excessive deficit by 2013 and to enhance the sustainability and credibility of the consolidation. A durable correction of the fiscal imbalances requires the credible implementation of ambitious structural reforms which would increase the adjustment capacity and boost potential growth.
p.21-22 p.8(5) p. 7 p. 9
After the correction of the excessive deficit, pursue the structural adjustment at an appropriate pace so as to reach the medium-term objective by 2016 p.9-10
p.12
p.5(8) p.15(13) p.15(14)
p.7-8 p.10
and ensure that the high debt ratio is put on a firm downward path. p.16-17 p.10 To this end, present growth-friendly structural measures for 2014 by 15 October 2013 which ensure a sustainable correction of the excessive deficit and sufficient progress towards its medium-term objective.
p.15(13) p.15(14) DBP
Ensure that the adjustment path is balanced over time or even front-loaded. p. 10-11 Adopt explicit coordination arrangements to ensure that budgetary targets are binding at federal level and sub-federal levels within a medium-term planning perspective
p.46-50 p.16(16) p.16(17) p.22(27)
p.11
including through the prompt adoption of a rule on the general government budget balance/surplus that complies with the requirements of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union and to increase the transparency of burden sharing and accountability across government layers.
p.46-50 p.16(17) p.22(27)
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES 2. Step up efforts to close the gap between the effective and statutory retirement
age, p.7 p.12-13
including by pursuing the on-going reforms to reduce the early-exit possibilities. p.7 p.44 p.21(25) p.12
Underpin reforms of the old-age social security systems with employment-support measures and labour-market reforms conducive to active ageing.
p.7-8 p.44-45 p.40-41 p.12(11)
p.21(25) p.12-13
Increase the effective retirement age by aligning retirement age or pension benefits to changes in life expectancy. p.21(25) p.12
Continue to improve the cost-efficiency of public spending on long term institutional care. p.8-9 p.12
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BE
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
EMPL
OYM
ENT
POLI
CIE
S
3. To restore competitiveness, pursue the on-going efforts to reform the wage setting system, including wage indexation; in particular, by taking structural measures, in consultation with the social partners and in accordance with national practice, to ensure that wage setting is responsive to productivity developments,
p.9-10 p.45-46
p.13(11) p.21(23) p.21(24)
p.20
reflects subregional and local differences in productivity and labour market conditions, and p.20-21
provides automatic corrections when wage evolution undermines cost-competitiveness. p.10-11
p.13(11) p.14(12) p.21(24)
p.20-21
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS 4. Present concrete and time-specific structural measures to improve competition
in the services sector, by removing barriers in retail and p.12 p.47 p.14(12)
p.21(24) p.22
excessive restrictions in professional services and p.12-13 p.14(12) p.21-22
improve the provision of mobile broadband. p.13 p.22
Continue to improve the functioning of the energy sector by reducing distribution costs and monitoring retail prices,
p.13 p.47 p.23
strengthen the independence of the regulators in the energy, telecoms and the transport sectors (railway, airport). p.13-15 p.14(12) p.23
Remove remaining regulatory barriers in the postal sector. p.15 p.22
PUBL
IC
FIN
AN
CES
5. Establish concrete and time-specific proposals for shifting taxes from labour to less growth- distortive tax bases, notably by exploring the potential of environmental taxes, for example on diesel, heating fuels and the taxation of the private use of company cars.
p.10
p.16-18
p.47-49
p.16(15)p.21(26) p.13-14
Simplify the tax system by reducing tax expenditures in income taxation, p.17 p.16(15) p.14
increasing VAT efficiency and p.17 p.14
improving tax compliance by closing existing loopholes. p.18 p.14
PE 547.558 15
BE
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D
SOC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
6. Further reduce disincentives to work by ensuring effective enforcement of job-search requirements and personalised job search assistance for all unemployed.
p.19 p.50 p.14(12) p.17
Take measures to increase interregional labour mobility. p. 19-20 p. 52-53 p.14(12)
p.21(24) p.17
Simplify and reinforce coherence between employment incentives, activation policies, labour matching, education, lifelong learning and vocational training policies for older people and youth.
p.20-21 p.50 p.52
p.12(11) p.14(12) p.21(24) p.21(25)
p.18
Develop comprehensive social-inclusion and labour market strategies for people with a migrant background.
p. 21-22 p.51 p.17-18
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
7. Take concrete measures and agree a clear division of efforts between the federal and regional authorities to ensure progress towards reaching the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from non-ETS activities, in particular from transport and
p.23-24 p. 54 p.25-26
buildings. p. 24 p.53 p.26
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BG
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
1. Preserve a sound fiscal position by ensuring compliance with the medium-term objective and p.26-32 p.6-7
p.10
pursue a growth-friendly fiscal policy as envisaged in the convergence programme. p.26-29 p.7-10
Implement a comprehensive tax strategy to strengthen all aspects of the tax law and collection procedures with a view to increase revenue, notably by improving tax collection,
p.11-12 p.27 p.46-49 p.12-13
tackling the shadow economy and p.12 p.46-49 p.12-13
reducing compliance costs. p.49 p.12-13
Establish an independent institution to monitor fiscal policy and provide analysis and advice. p.75 p.10-11
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
2. Phase out early retirement options, p.12-13 p.32 p.58 p.12
introduce the same statutory retirement age for men and women and p.12-13 p.32 p.58 p.12
implement active labour market policies that enable older workers to stay longer in the labour market. p.13 p.12
Tighten the eligibility criteria and controls for the allocation of invalidity pensions to effectively limit abuse. p.13-14 p.12
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D S
OC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
3. Accelerate the national Youth Employment Initiative, for example through a Youth Guarantee. p.15-16 p.15-16
Further strengthen the capacity of the Employment Agency with a view to providing effective counselling to jobseekers and p.16-17 p.14-15
develop capacity for identifying and matching skill needs. p.17 p.15
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BG
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D
SOC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
Enhance active labour-market policies, in particular concerning national employment schemes. p.17-18 p.14
Undertake a review of the minimum thresholds for social security contributions to ensure that the system does not price the low-skilled out of the labour market. p.18-20 p.15
Ensure concrete delivery of the National Strategies on Poverty and Roma integration. p.23-24 p.18
Improve the accessibility and effectiveness of social transfers and services, in particular for children and older people.
p.21-22 p.22-23 p.17-18
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D S
OC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
4. Adopt the School Education Act and p.24-25 p.16
pursue the reform of higher education, in particular through better aligning outcomes to labour-market needs and p.25-26 p.16
strengthening cooperation between education, research and business. p.25-26 p.16
Improve access to inclusive education for disadvantaged children, in particular Roma. p.16-17
Ensure effective access to healthcare and p.26-27 p.17
improve the pricing of healthcare services by linking hospitals’ financing to outcomes and p.28 p.17
developing out-patient care. p.29 p.17
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
5. Take further steps to improve the business environment, by cutting red tape, p.29-31 p.23 p.20
implementing an e-government strategy and p.31-32 p.23 p.20
implementing the legislation on late payments. p.32 p.2
Improve the quality and independence of the judicial system and p.33-34 p.24-25
PE 547.558 18
BG
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
fight corruption more effectively. p.34-35 p.24-25
Improve the access to finance for SMEs and start-ups. p.35-36 p.13
6. Accelerate the absorption of EU funds. p.36 p.24
Ensure sound implementation of public-procurement legislation by extending ex-ante control by the Public Procurement Agency to prevent irregularities.
p.36-37 p.24
7. Strengthen the independence of national regulatory authorities p.37-38 p.20
and the administrative capacity in particular in the energy and transport sectors,
p.20-1
as well as for waste and p.38 p.21
water management. p.38 p.21
Remove market barriers, quotas, territorial restrictions and regulated prices p.21
and complete the market design by setting up a transparent wholesale market for electricity and
p.38 p.20
natural gas. p.38 p.20
Accelerate electricity and gas interconnector projects and p.38-39 p.20
enhance the capacity to cope with disruptions. p.21
Step up efforts to improve energy efficiency. p.40 p.21
PE 547.558 19
CZ
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
Assessment and references
NRP Annex NRP SCP IMF OECD COM Assess-
ment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
1. Implement as envisaged the budget for the year 2013 so as to correct the excessive deficit in 2013 in a sustainable manner and p.8 p. 1 p.11-12 p.5(6) p.7
p.10
achieve the structural adjustment effort specified in the Council recommendations under the EDP. p.8 p. 1 p.17-18 p.5(6) p.10
For the year 2014 and beyond, reinforce and rigorously implement the budgetary strategy, supported by sufficiently specified measures, to ensure an adequate fiscal effort to make sufficient progress towards the medium-term objective.
p.8-9 p. 1 p.12-17
p.8(15-17)
p.14(31) p.20
(Box4)
p.19 p.22-23 p.7-9
Prioritise growth-enhancing expenditure including committing on time remaining projects co-financed with EU funds under the current financial framework. p.9-10 p. 2 p.30-31 p.9(16)
p.10(18) p.18-19 p.7 p.9-10
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES 2. Reduce the high level of taxation on labour by shifting taxation to areas less
detrimental to growth, such as recurrent taxes on housing and vehicle circulation taxes.
p.10-11 p. 2-3 p.33-34 p.14-15
Further reduce discrepancies in the tax treatment of employees and the self-employed. p.11 p. 3 p.44 p.15
Improve tax compliance and p.11 p. 4 p.29 p.13(28) p.19 p.16
reduce compliance costs by establishing the Single Collection Point and p. 11 p. 4 p.26 p.19 p.16 harmonising the tax bases for personal income tax and social and health contributions. p. 4 p.34 p.15
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES 3. Increase the effective retirement age by aligning retirement age or pension
benefits to changes in life expectancy, p.12 p. 5 p.21-22 p.12
and review the indexation mechanism. p.9 p.12 p. 5 p.21-22 p.12
Accompany the increase in retirement age with measures promoting employability of older workers and p.14-15 p. 5-6 p.21-22
p.34 p.12-13
reduce early exit pathways. In particular, remove the public subsidy for the pre-retirement scheme. p. 15 p. 5-6 p.13
Take measures to significantly improve cost-effectiveness of healthcare expenditure, in particular for hospital care. p. 15-16 p. 6 p. 21 p.13-14
PE 547.558 20
CZ
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
Assessment and references
NRP Annex NRP SCP IMF OECD COM Assess-
ment
EMPL
OY.
/ SO
CIA
L PO
LIC
IES 4. Take additional efforts to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of the
public employment service. p. 16-17 p. 7-8 p.13(28) p.19
Increase significantly the availability of inclusive childcare facilities with a focus on children up to three years old, p. 17-18 p. 9-10 p.13(28) p. 34 p.17-18
and the participation of Roma children, notably by adopting and implementing the law on provision of childcare services and p. 9-10 p.17-18
strengthening the capacities of both public and private childcare services. p. 9-10 p. 34 p.18
STR
UC
TUR
AL
POLI
CIE
S
5. Ensure implementation of the anti-corruption strategy for 2013-2014. p. 19-20 p. 10 p.13(28) p. 19 p.28
Adopt a Public Servants Act that should ensure a stable, efficient and professional state administration service. p. 18-19 p. 11 p.28 p.28
Improve the management of EU funds in view of the 2014-2020 programming period. p. 20 p. 11 p.29
Strengthen the capacity for implementation of public tenders at local and regional level. p. 20-21 p. 12 p.28 p.29
SOC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S 6. Establish a comprehensive evaluation framework in compulsory education and p. 21 p. 12 p.20
take targeted measures to support schools that rank low in educational outcomes. p. 21 p. 12 p.13(28) p.36 p.20
Adopt measures to enhance accreditation and funding of higher education. p. 21-22 p. 12 p.37-38 p.20
Increase the share of performance-based funding of research institutions. p. 22 p. 13 p.13(28) p.23-24
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REO
FRM
S
7. Drawing on the on-going review, proceed with a reform of regulated professions, by reducing or eliminating entry barriers and reserves of activities where they are unjustified.
p. 22-23 p.14 p.27-28 p.25
Take further measures to improve energy efficiency in the buildings and industry sectors. p. 23-25 p. 14-15 p.19
p.45 p.26
PE 547.558 21
DK
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
PUBL
IC
FIN
AN
CES
1. Implement the budgetary strategy in 2013 as envisaged, so as to ensure the correction of the excessive deficit by 2013. p.12-16 p.23-25
p.26 p.6(6) p.7(8) p.18-19 p.7-8
p.9
Furthermore, implement the budgetary strategy for 2014 and beyond to ensure an adequate fiscal effort to remain at the medium-term objective.
p.13-14 p.16
p.26-28 p.29-36
p.14(12) p.22(28) p.25 p.7-9
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D S
OC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
2. Take further steps to improve the employability of people at the margins of the labour market, including people with a migrant background, p.21 p.35
p.38-9 p.17-18
the long-term unemployed and p.21 p.30 p.16
p.38 p.17
low-skilled workers. p.20-21
p.19(25) p.30 p.28-29
p.38 p.17
Improve the quality of vocational training to reduce drop-out rates and p.18 p.23
p.19(25) p.30 p.45(20) p.27-28
p.35 p.17 p.19
increase the number of apprenticeships. p.23 p.27-28 p.17
p.19
Implement the reform of primary and lower secondary education in order to raise attainment levels and
p.18 p.21-22 p.46(22) p.35-36 p.19-20
improve the cost-effectiveness of the education system. p.18 p.24 p.19(23) p.45(18) p.35 p.18
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
3. Continue efforts to remove obstacles to competition in the services sector including in the retail and p.25-26 p.19(23)
(24)
p.43 (9-12) p.48
(30-40)
p.29-31 p.21-22
construction sectors and p.26
p. 48(34) p.50(41-
42) p.21
enhance effectiveness in the provision of public services. p.26-27 p.19(23) p.44(16)
p.46(23-28)
p.30-32
p.37-38
p.22
p.25-26
PE 547.558 22
DE
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-
ment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
1. Preserve a sound fiscal position as envisaged which ensures compliance with the medium- term objective over the programme horizon.
p.14 p.38 p.22-25 p.7(4) p.23 p.7-8
Pursue a growth-friendly fiscal policy through additional efforts to enhance the cost-effectiveness of public spending on healthcare and long-term care through better integration of care delivery and a stronger focus on prevention and rehabilitation and independent living.
p.15-16 p.39-40 p.42 p.17(13)
p.17(14) p.12
Improve the efficiency of the tax system, in particular by broadening the VAT base and p.17 p.23-24 p.13
by reassessing the municipal real estate tax base; p.17 p.25 p.13
use the available scope for increased and more efficient growth-enhancing spending on education and research at all levels of government. p.17 p.25-26 p.23-24 p.9
Complete the implementation of the debt brake in a consistent manner across all Länder, ensuring that monitoring procedures and correction mechanisms are timely and relevant.
p.15 p.38 p.21-22 p.10
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D S
OC
IAL
POLC
IES
2. Sustain conditions that enable wage growth to support domestic demand. To this purpose, reduce high taxes and social security contributions, especially for low-wage earners and
p. 18 p.41-42 p.17(13)
p.25 p.13-14 p.16-17
raise the educational achievement of disadvantaged people. p. 18-19 p.43-45 p.23
p.35-36 p.19
Maintain appropriate activation and integration measures, especially for the long-term unemployed.
p.19 p.49-50 p.15(3) p.17-18
Facilitate the transition from non-standard employment such as mini-jobs into more sustainable forms of employment.
p.19 p.46-48
p.17(13-16)
p.30(46) p.34-35 p.18
Take measures to improve incentives to work and the employability of workers, in particular for second earners and low-skilled, also with a view to improving their income. To this end, remove disincentives for second earners and
p.20 p.48-50 p.14(4)
p.15(5) p.30-31
p.34 p.13-14
further increase the availability of fulltime childcare facilities p.20 p.26 p.18(14) p.31 p.16-17
and all-day schools. p.51-53 p. 23,31 p.19
PE 547.558 23
DE
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-
ment
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
3. Improve the coordination of the energy policy with neighbouring countries and p.22 p.54 p.22
keep the overall costs of transforming the energy system to a minimum, in particular by further reviewing the cost-effectiveness of energy policy instruments designed to achieve the renewable energy targets and
p.20-21 p.54
p.13(7) p.14
p.23(25) p.24(29)
p.29(9) p.28-29 p.21-22
by continuing efforts to accelerate the expansion of the national and cross-border electricity and gas networks.
p.21-22 p.54 p.13(7)
p.14 p.29(9) p.22
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
/ FI
NA
NC
IAL
SEC
TOR
4. Take measures to further stimulate competition in the services sectors, including certain crafts — in the construction sector in particular — and professional services to boost domestic sources of growth.
p.22 p.36(4) p.28 p.23
Take urgent action to significantly increase the value of public contracts open to procurement. p.23 p.23-24
Adopt and implement the announced legislative reform to improve the enforcement of competition law regarding competition restrictions.
p.24 p.55 p.21
Remove planning restrictions which unduly restrict new entries in the retail sector. p.24 p.36(4) p.28 p.24
Take further measures to eliminate the remaining barriers to competition in the railway markets.
p.24-25 p.55 p.36(4) p.28 p.22-23
Pursue efforts for consolidation in the banking sector, including by improving the governance framework.
p.25 p.55 p.21-23 p.15
PE 547.558 24
EE
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES 1. Pursue a growth-friendly fiscal policy p.32-33
p.19
p.32-33
p.37-40
p.21 p.9-10
p.12
and preserve a sound fiscal position as envisaged, p.31-32 p.18-19-20
p.5(9)
p.10(19) p.21-22
p.7-8
p.9-10
ensuring compliance with the medium-term budgetary objective over the programme horizon.
p.11
Complement the planned budget rule with more binding multi-annual expenditure rules within the medium-term budgetary framework and
p.55-56 p.10(20) p.21 p.11-12
continue enhancing the efficiency of public spending. p.32 p.53-54 p.22 p.7
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D S
OC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
2. Improve incentives to work by making the various existing social-benefit systems more consistent and p.16 p.32 p.16
by increasing the flexibility and targeting of benefit allocation. p.16
p.16
Improve the delivery of social services, including childcare, p.16-17
p.32-34 p.16
while increasing the efficiency and cost- effectiveness of family policy. p.16-17
p.21 p.28 p.32
p.16-17
Strengthen activation measures to facilitate the return to the labour market of the long-term unemployed and
p.13 p.15
p.12(28) p.88(19) p.32 p.15-16
people receiving disability benefits p.16 p.12(28) p.13(30) p.31-32 p.16
and incapacity for work benefits. p.16 p.31-32 p.16
Establish coordinated measures for fostering economic development in regions affected by high unemployment.
p.88(19) p.17
PE 547.558 25
EE
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D S
OC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
3. Continue efforts to improve the labour-market relevance of education and training systems, including by further involving social partners
p.11-12-13 p.12(28)
p.83(15)(16)
p.88(19)
p.28
p.33 p.18
and implementing targeted measures to address youth unemployment.. p.11-13
p.15-16
p.12(28) p.32-33 p.17-18
Significantly increase the participation of the low skilled in life-long learning. p.13(30) p.22
p.33 p.19
Intensify efforts to prioritise and internationalise the research and innovation systems and
p.14-15
p.21-23 p.23 p. 22
enhance cooperation between businesses, higher education and research institutions
p.13-14 p.13(30) p.23 p. 22
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
4. Improve energy efficiency, in particular in buildings p.28-29 p.26-27 p.20-21
and transport,
and strengthen environmental incentives concerning vehicles p.29-30 p.21
and waste. p.12
Step up the development of cross- border energy connections to diversify energy sources and
p.27-28 p.14(31) p.25 p.21-22
promote competition in the energy market. p.28 p.23
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
5. Better balance local government revenue against devolved responsibilities. p.24-25 p.21 p.24-25
Improve the efficiency of local governments and
p.40 p.24-25
ensure quality provision of local public services. p.25
PE 547.558 26
ES
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
1. Deliver the structural fiscal effort as required by the Council recommendation under the EDP to ensure correction of the excessive deficit by 2016. p. 10-11 p. 62-64 p.25(33) p. 8-9
To this end, implement the measures adopted in the 2013 budget plans at all levels of government, p. 11-12 p. 24-29 p. 22 p. 7, 10
reinforce the medium-term budgetary strategy with sufficiently specified structural measures for the years 2014-16. A durable correction of the fiscal imbalances is predicated upon the credible implementation of ambitious structural reforms which would increase the adjustment capacity and boost potential growth and employment.
p. 11 p.30-39 p.25(32) p.25(34) p. 22-24 p. 7-8 p.
10
After achieving the correction of the excessive deficit, pursue the structural adjustment at an appropriate pace so as to reach the medium term objective by 2018. p. 62-65 p. 22-23 p. 6-7
Ensure a strict and transparent enforcement of the preventive and corrective measures provided for in the Budgetary Stability Organic Law. p. 12-13 p.84-87 p. 22-23 p. 13
Establish an independent fiscal authority before the end of 2013 to provide analysis, advice and monitor compliance of fiscal policy with national and EU fiscal rules. p. 13-14 p.84-87 p.6
p.24(31) p. 22 p. 13
Improve the efficiency and quality of public expenditure at all levels of government, p. 13 p.78-81 p.26(35) p.25(31) p.27(38)
p. 9-10
and conduct a systematic review of major spending items by March 2014. p. 13-14 p.78-81 p.25(32) p. 10 Increase the cost-effectiveness of the health-care sector, while maintaining accessibility for vulnerable groups, for example by reducing hospital pharmaceutical spending, strengthening coordination across types of care and improving incentives for an efficient use of resources.
p. 14 p.74-76 p. 26-27 p. 15
Take measures to reduce the outstanding amount of government arrears, avoid their further accumulation and regularly publish data on outstanding amounts. p. 15 p.79-80 p.53(14) p. 24 p. 13-14
Adopt the dis-indexation law to reduce the degree of price inertia in public expenditures and revenues, in time to have it in force by the beginning of 2014 and p. 15 p.6 p. 31
consider additional steps to limit the application of indexation clauses. p. 15 p. 31
Finalise by end-2013 the regulation of the sustainability factor so as to ensure the long-term financial stability of the pension system, including by increasing the effective retirement age by aligning retirement age or pension benefits to changes in life expectancy.
p. 14 p.71-73 p.6 p.24(31) p. 14
PE 547.558 27
ES
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
2. Conduct a systematic review of the tax system by March 2014. p. 15 p.46-49 p. 29 p. 15-16
Consider further limiting tax expenditure in direct taxation, p. 15 p.41-42 p.24(31) p.26(36) p. 29
p. 45 p. 17
explore the scope to further limit the application of the reduced VAT rates and p.40,42
p.24(31) p.26(36) p.27(38) p.33(50-
51)
p.63(7) p. 31 p. 17
take additional steps in environmental taxation, notably as regards excise duties p. 16 p.40,42 p.26(36) p. 17
and fuel taxes. p. 16 p.40,42 p.63(7) p. 31 p. 42 p. 17
Take further measures to address the debt bias in corporate taxation. p. 16 p.42-44 p.27(37) p. 20-21 p. 29 p. 17
Intensify the fight against the shadow economy and undeclared work, p. 16-17 p.44-46 p.6 p. 31 p. 18
FIN
AN
-CI
AL
SECT
OR 3. Implement the financial sector programme for the recapitalisation of the financial
institutions, including the measures promoting non-bank intermediation adopted in November 2012.
p. 17-19 p.6 p.16(18) p. 32, 46 p. 19-21
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D S
OC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
4. Finalise the evaluation of the 2012 labour market reform covering the full range of its objectives and measures by July 2013, p. 19-21 p.19(22) p.28(40) p. 38 p. 23
and present amendments, if necessary, by September 2013. p. 21 p. 38 p. 23-24 Adopt the 2013 national Employment Plan by July 2013 and p. 21 p. 24 enact swiftly a result-oriented reform of active labour market policies, including by strengthening the targeting and efficiency of guidance. p. 21 p.19(23)
p.21(25) p. 36-37 p. 24
Reinforce and modernise public employment services to ensure effective individualised assistance to the unemployed according to their profiles and training needs. p. 21-22 p. 36-38 p. 25
Reinforce the effectiveness of re-skilling training programmes for older and low-skilled workers. p. 22 p.13(10)
p.21(25) p. 38 p. 27
Fully operationalize the Single Job Portal and p. 22 p.21(25) p. 37 p. 25 speed up the implementation of public-private cooperation in placement services to ensure its effective application already in 2013. p. 22 p.21(26) p. 25-26
PE 547.558 28
ES
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D
SOC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
5. Implement and monitor closely the effectiveness of the measures to fight youth unemployment set out in the Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment Strategy 2013-2016, for example through a Youth Guarantee.
p. 22-23 p.6 p.19(23) p. 35 p. 25
Continue with efforts to increase the labour market relevance of education and training, to reduce early school leaving and to enhance life-long learning, namely by expanding the application of dual vocational training beyond the current pilot phase and
p. 23-24 p.19(23) p.23(28) p. 39 p. 26
by introducing a comprehensive monitoring system of pupils' performance by the end of 2013. p. 24 p. 26
SOC
IAL
POLC
IES
6. Adopt and implement the necessary measures to reduce the number of people at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion by reinforcing active labour market policies to improve employability of people further away from the labour market and
p. 24-26 p. 27-28 p. 28
by improving the targeting and increasing efficiency and effectiveness of support measures including quality family support services. p. 26-27 p. 29 p. 28
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
/ FI
NA
NC
IAL
SEC
TOR
7. Urgently adopt and implement the draft Law on Market Unity and p. 27
p.6 p.23(28)
p.24 (Box2)
p. 44-45 p. 31
speed up all complementary actions needed for its swift implementation. p. 27 p.24 (Box2) p. 44-45 p. 31
Ensure the effectiveness, autonomy and independence of the newly created regulatory authority. p. 27
By the end of 2013, adopt and implement the Law on professional associations and services, so as to remove any unjustified restriction to the access and exercise of professional activities,
p. 27 p.6 p. 46-47 p. 31
and the Law on Entrepreneurship. p. 27 p.6 p.23(18) p.23(22) p.38(7)
p. 44 p. 32
Regroup and concentrate support schemes for the internationalisation of firms. p. 28 p. 32
PE 547.558 29
ES
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
/ FI
NA
NC
IAL
SEC
TOR
Reduce the number and shorten licensing procedures, including for industrial activities, and p. 28 p.6 p. 44-46 p. 32
spread the use of the "express licence" approach to activities other than retail. p. 28 p. 53 p. 32
Review insolvency frameworks for companies and p.6
p.14(13-17),
p.24(17) p.41(18)
p.44 (Box1)
p.17-19 p.21
individuals, including through limiting personal liability of entrepreneurs and p.6
p.14(13,15, 17),
p.24(17,19);p.41(1
8,19) p.44
(Box1)
p.17-19 p.21-22
easing second chances for failed businesses. p.14(17) p.41(18)p
.44 (Box1)
p.21
Remove unjustifiable restrictions to the establishment of large-scale retail premises. p. 28-29 p.32
By March 2014, review the effectiveness of the regulatory framework to support the development of the housing rental market. p. 29 p.33
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
8. Tackle the electricity tariff deficit by adopting and implementing a structural reform of the electricity sector by the end of 2013. p. 29-30 p.6
p.23(28) p.24-25 p. 40 p.33-34
Intensify efforts to complete the electricity and gas interconnections with neighbouring countries. p. 30 p.42 p.34
Reduce the contingent liability for public finances stemming from unprofitable transport infrastructure. p. 30 p.25-26 p.35
Set up an independent observatory to inform the assessment of future major infrastructure projects. p. 30 p.25-26 p.35
Take measures to ensure effective competition in freight and passenger rail services. p. 31 p.26 p.35
PE 547.558 30
ES
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assess-ment
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
9. Adopt in line with the presented timetable the reform of the local administration and p. 31-32 p.6 p.24(31) p.29 p.36-37
define by October 2013 a plan to enhance the efficiency of the overall public administration. p. 31 p.24(31) p.29 p.36-37
Adopt and implement the on-going reforms to enhance the efficiency of the judicial system. p. 32 p.37-38
PE 547.558 31
FR
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assessment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
1. Reinforce and pursue the budgetary strategy in 2013. p.16 p.44
p.5(7) p.6(8) p.9
Enhance the credibility of the adjustment by specifying by autumn 2013 and implementing the necessary measures for the year 2014 and beyond to ensure a correction of the excessive deficit in a sustainable manner by 2015 at the latest
p.21 p.45 p.14(13) p.9-10
and the achievement of the structural adjustment effort specified in the Council recommendations under the EDP. p.21 p.18
p.46-47
p.14(13) p.6(8)
p.17(19) p.11
Use all windfall gains for deficit reduction. A durable correction of the fiscal imbalances requires a credible implementation of ambitious structural reforms to increase the adjustment capacity and boost growth and employment.
p.21 N/A
Maintain a growth-friendly fiscal consolidation course and p.22 p.13-16 p.6(8)
p.17(19) p.17(20)
p.9
further increase the efficiency of public expenditure, in particular by proceeding as planned with a review of spending categories across all sub-sectors of general government.
p.22-23 p.22-33
p.6(8) p.17(20-
22) p.18
(Box1)
p.10-11
Take action through the forthcoming decentralisation law to achieve better synergies and savings between central and local government levels. p.23 p.59-60
p.6(8) p.17(20-
22) p.18
(Box1)
p.10-11 p.13-14
After the correction of the excessive deficit, pursue the structural adjustment effort at an adequate pace so as to reach the MTO by 2016. p.23-24 p.19-20 p.17(19) p.9-10
p.13 N/A
Take measures by the end of 2013 to bring the pension system into balance in a sustainable manner no later than 2020, for example by adapting indexation rules, by increasing the full-pension contribution period, by further increasing the effective retirement age, by aligning retirement age or pension benefits to changes in life expectancy and by reviewing special schemes,
p.24-26 p.18 (Box1) p.15
while avoiding an increase in employers' social contributions, and p.15 increase the cost-effectiveness of healthcare expenditure, including in the areas of pharmaceutical spending. p.26-27 p.30-31 p.18
(Box1) p.11 p.14-15
PE 547.558 32
FR
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assessment
EMPL
OYM
ENT
POLI
CIE
S
2. Ensure that the reduction in the labour cost resulting from the 'credit d'impôt compétitivité et emploi' yields the planned amount and that no other measure will offset its effect.
p.28 p.19(23) p.16 p.25
Take further action to lower the cost of labour, in particular through further measures to reduce employers’ social-security contributions, in association with social partners.
p.28-29 p.60-61 p.19(23) p.21(29) p.16
p.25
Ensure that developments in the minimum wage are supportive of competitiveness and job creation, taking into account the existence of wage support schemes and social contribution exemptions.
p.29-30 p.21(29) p.21(30) p.19-20
p.25
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS
3. Take further measures to improve the business environment and develop the innovation and export capacity of firms, in particular SMEs and enterprises of intermediate size.
p.31-40 p.19(23) p.30-31
In particular, launch the announced simplification initiative of the regulatory framework, and p.38-40 p.19(23) p.31
improve the framework conditions for innovation, by enhancing technology transfer and the commercial exploitation of research, including through a reorientation of the competitiveness poles.
p.31-35 p.27
STR
UC
TUR
AL
REF
OR
MS 4. Take action to enhance competition in services; p.44-46 p.19(25)
p.20(26) p.25-26
remove unjustified restrictions in the access to and exercise of professional services, notably regarding legal form, shareholding structure, quotas and territorial restrictions;
p.44-46 p.20(26) p.26
take action to simplify authorisation for the opening of trade outlets and p.46 p.20(26) p.26
to remove the ban of sales at a loss; p.26
remove regulated gas and electricity tariffs for non-household customers and p.47-48 p.27-28
strengthen interconnection capacity with neighbouring countries; p.47-48 p.28
in the railway sector, open domestic passenger transport to competition. p.48-49 p.29
PE 547.558 33
FR
Country Specific Recommendations 2013
References and Assessment
NRP SCP IMF IMF SI OECD COM Assessment
PUBL
IC F
INA
NC
ES
5. Pursue efforts to simplify the tax system and improve its efficiency, while ensuring continuity of tax rules over time. p.50-51 p.61 p.15-17
Take additional measures to remove the debt bias in corporate taxation. p.51-52 p.60 p.17
Step up efforts to reduce and streamline personal and corporate income tax expenditures while reducing statutory rates; p.51-52 p.16
bring reduced VAT rates closer to the standard rate and p.52 p.61 p.15
remove inefficient reduced rates. p.52 p.16
Take further measures shifting the tax burden from labour to environmental taxation or consumption. p.53 p.60 p.16-17
EMPL
OYM
ENT
AN
D S
OC
IAL
POLI
CIE
S
6. Implement fully and without delay the January 2013 inter-professional agreement, in consultation with the social partners. p.54-55 p.19
Take further action to combat labour-market segmentation, in particular to address the situation of interim agency workers. p.55 p.20(28) p.19
Launch urgently a reform of the unemployment benefit system in association with the social partners and in accordance with national practices to ensure sustainability of the system while ensuring that it provides adequate incentives to return to work.
p.56-57 p.20(27) p.20-21
Enhance the employment rate of older workers and p.25 p.57 p.20(27) p.20-21
stimulate their participation in the labour market. p.57 p.20-21 Take specific action to improve the employment perspective of older unemployed people in particular through specific counselling and training. p.58 p.20(27) p.20-21
Increase adult participation in lifelong learning, especially of the least qualified and of the unemployed. p.58 p.23
Ensure that public employment services effectively deliver individualised support to the unemployed and p.59 p.21
that active labour market policies effectively target the most disadvantaged. p.55 p.21(30) p.19-21 p.23-24
Take further measures to improve the transition from school to work through, for example, a Youth Guarantee and promotion of apprenticeship. p.59-60 p.21-23
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1. Ensure that the deficit remains below 3% of GDP in 2013, by fully implementing the adopted measures. p.85-87 p.16-20
p.83-87 p.26(c) p.7
Pursue the structural adjustment at an appropriate pace and through growth-friendly fiscal consolidation so as to achieve and maintain the MTO as from 2014. p.85-87 p.87-90
p.31-36 p.26(c)
p.31(23) p.9-10
Achieve the planned structural primary surpluses in order to put the very high debt-to-GDP ratio on a steadily declining path. p.31-36
p.41-49 p.26(c)
p.31(23) p.11
Continue pursuing a durable improvement of the efficiency and quality of public expenditure by fully implementing the measures adopted in 2012 and p.86-88 p.17-18
p.24 p.25(c) P.33(3) P.34(4) P.33(5)
p.10
taking the effort forward through regular in depth spending reviews at all levels of government. p.87-88 p.99-103
p.25(c) p.28(c)
p.29(Box4) P.33(3) p.10
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2. Ensure timely implementation of on-going reforms by swiftly adopting the necessary enacting legislation, p.89 p.28(c) p.32
following it up with concrete delivery at all levels of government and with all relevant stakeholders, and monitoring impact. p.89 p.32
Reinforce the efficiency of public administration and p.89-91 p.33
improve coordination between layers of government. p.90-91 p.29(Box4) p.32-33
Simplify the administrative and regulatory framework for citizens and business and p.90-92 p.33
reduce the duration of case-handling and the high levels of litigation in civil justice, including by fostering out-of- court settlement procedures. p.92-93 p.13(13A)
p.31(19)
p.9(10-13)
P.12(16-19)
p.35
Strengthen the legal framework for the repression of corruption, including by revising the rules governing limitation periods. p.93 p.14(13A)
p.31(19) p.35-36
Adopt structural measures to improve the management of EU funds in the southern regions with regard to the 2014-2020 programming period. p.36
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3. Extend good corporate governance practices to the whole banking sector conducive to higher efficiency and profitability to support the flow of credit to productive activities.
p.94 p.18(13B) p.31(22) p.23(17) p.17
Take forward the on-going work as regards asset-quality screening across the banking sector and p.94 p.18(13) p.16
facilitate the resolution of non-performing loans on banks’ balance sheets. p.94 p.16(13B) p.31(20)
p.23(15) p.23(18) p.16
Promote further the development of capital markets to diversify and enhance firms' access to finance, especially into equity, and in turn foster their innovation capacity and growth.
p.95-98 p.20(13B) p.26(27) p.26(28) p.17-18
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4. Ensure the effective implementation of the labour market and p.99 p.31(19) p.19
wage setting reforms to allow better alignment of wages to productivity. p.99
p.6(3) p.13(13A)
p.25(c) p.31(19)
p.19-20
Take further action to foster labour market participation, especially of women p.99-102 p.12(13A) p.21
and young people, for example through a Youth Guarantee. p.102-103 p.20-21
Strengthen vocational education and training, p.103 p.23 ensure more efficient public employment services and p.104 p.13(13A) p.46(28) p.21 improve career and counselling services for tertiary students. p.22-23
Reduce financial disincentives for second earners to work and p.103-104 p.21-22
improve the provision of care, especially child- and long-term care, and out-of-school services. p.21-22
Step up efforts to prevent early school leaving. p.103-104 p.22-23
Improve school quality and outcomes, also by enhancing teachers' professional development and p.104 p.23
diversifying career development. p.104 p.23
Ensure effectiveness of social transfers, notably through better targeting of benefits, especially for low-income households with children.
p.105-106 p.29(Box4)
p.39(16) p.40(19) p.47(32) p.48(35)
p.24-25
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5. Shift the tax burden from labour and capital to consumption, property and the environment in a budgetary neutral manner. To this purpose, review the scope of VAT exemptions and reduced rates and of direct tax expenditures, and
p.107-109 p.25(c)
p.31(23) p.13
reform the cadastral system to align the tax base of recurrent immovable property to market values.
p.107-108 p.25(c)
p.28(c) p.13-15
Pursue the fight against tax evasion, p.109-110 p.25(c)
p.28(c) p.13-14
improve tax compliance and p.109-110 p.14
take decisive steps against the shadow economy and undeclared work. p.109-110 p.14
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6. Ensure the proper implementation of the measures aiming at market opening in the services sector. p.111 p.16(13A)
p.31(19) p.25
Remove remaining restrictions in professional services and p.16(13A) p.25-26
foster market access for instance in the provision of local public services where the use of public procurement should be advanced (instead of direct concessions). p.111 p.16(13A) p.26-27
Pursue deployment of the measures taken to improve market access conditions in network industries, in particular by setting- up the Transport Authority as a priority.
p.111-112 p.16(13A) p.28
Upgrade infrastructure capacity with focus on energy interconnections, intermodal transport and high-speed broadband in telecommunications, also with a view to tackling the North-South disparities.
p.113-115 p.16(13A) p.28
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ES 1. Reinforce the budgetary strategy to ensure that the deviation from the MTO only
reflects the incremental impact of the systemic pension reform. p.8 p.10(24) p.11(26) p.13(34)
p.7-10
Within this strategy, reduce taxation of low-income earners p.8-9 p.8(17) p.10(24) p.12
by shifting taxation to areas such as excise duties, recurrent property taxes and/or environmental taxes. p.8-9 p.11(26)
p.13(34) p.12-13
Maintain efforts to improve tax compliance and combat the shadow economy. p.9-10 P.11(26) p.13(34) p.13
Continue strengthening the fiscal framework through effective implementation of the Fiscal Discipline Law and multi-annual budgeting. p.8
p.5(9) p.6
p.10(23) p.10
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2. Continue to use micro and macro prudential policies to prevent possible vulnerabilities that could arise from future credit growth and non-resident banking activities.
p.10-12 p.12(29) p.14(39) p.14
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3. Tackle long-term and youth unemployment by increasing coverage and effectiveness of active labour market policies and p.12-13 p.15
targeted social services. p.12-13 p.16 Improve the employability of young people, for example through a Youth Guarantee, p.13-14 p.15
establish comprehensive career guidance, p.15 p.17
implement reforms in the field of vocational education and training, and p.14-15 p.8(16) p.17
improve the quality and accessibility of apprenticeships. p.14-15 p.17
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S 4. Tackle high rates of poverty by reforming social assistance for better coverage, in particular, by improving benefit adequacy and activation measures for benefit recipient
p.16-17 p.10(25) p.15-16
Reinforce the delivery mechanisms to effectively reduce child poverty. p.16-17 p.16
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5. Implement the planned reforms of higher education concerning, in particular, the establishment of a quality-rewarding financing model, p.18 p.8(16) p.17
reform of the accreditation system, p.19 p.8(16) p.17 consolidation of the institutions and p.20 p.17 promotion of internationalization. p.19 p.17 Take further steps to modernise research institutions based on the on-going independent assessment. p.20 p.19
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6. Continue improving energy efficiency, especially of residential buildings and district heating networks; p.21 p.20
provide incentives for reducing energy costs and p.22 p.21 shift consumption towards energy- efficient products. p.22 p.21 Improve connectivity with EU energy networks and p.23 p.7(15) p.21-22 take steps towards liberalisation of the natural gas market, including provision of clear rules for third-party access to storage capacities. p.22 p.20
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7. Complete pending reforms to improve the efficiency and quality of the judiciary and p.24 p.9(20) p.22
reduce the backlog and length of proceedings, p.24-25 p.9(20) p.23 including as regards insolvency. p.24-25 p.9(20) p.22 Put in place a comprehensive human resources policy and p.25 p.22 take steps to implement the mediation laws and p.25 p.9(20) p.22 streamline the arbitration court system. p.25-26 p.9(20) p.22
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1. Ensure growth-friendly fiscal consolidation and implement the budgetary strategy as planned, p.5 p.17-20
p. 6(7) p.15(17) p.19(34)
p.4(2) p.6-7
pursuing a structural adjustment effort that will enable Lithuania to reach the medium-term objective. p.5 p.21
p. 6(7) p.15(17) p.15(18) p.19(34)
p.6(4) p.7(7) p.6-7
Prioritise growth-enhancing expenditure. p.5 p. 30-32 p.15(19) p.19(34) p.8(8) p. 7
Continue to strengthen the fiscal framework, in particular by securing enforceable and binding expenditure ceilings in the medium-term budgetary framework. p.6 p.17-18 p.15(19) p.7(7) p.8
Review the tax system and consider increasing those taxes that are least detrimental to growth, such as recurrent property and environmental taxation, including introducing car taxation,
p.6 p.16-17 p.14(Box
5) p.15(19)
p.11(12) p.9-10
while continuing to reinforce tax compliance. p.6 p. 6(7) p.12(13) p.10-11
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2. Adopt and implement legislation on a comprehensive pension system reform. p.7 p.15(19) p.15
Align the statutory retirement age with life expectancy, p.8 p.15
restrict access to early retirement, p.8 p.15
establish clear rules for the indexation of pensions, p.9 p.15
and promote the use of complementary savings schemes while ensuring implementation of on-going reforms. p.7-8 p.15
Underpin pension reform with measures that promote the employability of older workers. p.9 p.15
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3. Tackle high unemployment amongst low-skilled and p.9-10 p.18(27) p.12-13
long-term by refocusing resources on active labour market policies p.9-10 p.18(27) p.20(37) p.12-13
while improving their coverage and efficiency. p.10 p.13 Improve the employability of young people, for example through a Youth Guarantee, p.10-11 p.13
enhance the implementation and effectiveness of apprenticeship schemes, p.12 p.13
and address persistent skill mismatches. p.12 p.18(27) p.20(37) p.13
Review the appropriateness of labour legislation with regard to flexible contract agreements, dismissal provisions and flexible working time arrangements, in consultation with social partners.
p.12-13 p.18(27) p.20(37) p.13-14
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S 4. Implement concrete targeted measures to reduce poverty and social exclusion. p.13-14 p.15
Continue strengthening the links between the cash social assistance reform and activation measures. p.13-14 p.16
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particular to ensure separation of ownership and regulatory functions, . p.15-16 p.18(29) p.20(38) p.17
and closely monitor compliance with the requirements of the reform. p.16 p.17
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6. Step up measures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, including through removing p.16-17 p.17
disincentives and rapid implementation of the holding fund. p.17-18 p.17
Promote competition in energy networks by improving interconnectivity with other Member States for both electricity and gas. p.19-20 p.18(28)
p.20(38) p.17-18
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1. Preserve a sound fiscal position and p.9-10 p.12
p.14-17 p.10(11) p.10(12)
p.3(1) p.3(2) p.5(6)
p.7
remain at the medium-term objective so as to ensure the long-term sustainability of public finances, in particular by taking into account implicit liabilities related to ageing.
p.9-10 p.13 p.14
p.17-26
p.10(11) p.10(12) p.12(19)
p.3(2) p.5(5) p.5(6)
p.7-9
Strengthen fiscal governance by adopting a medium-term budgetary framework covering the general government and including multi-annual expenditure ceilings, p.10-11
p.40 p.42
p.10(11) p.11(15) p.12(18) p. 12(19)
p.13(22) p.9-10
and by putting in place the independent monitoring of fiscal rules. p.10 p.40 p.12(17) p.20(37)
p.10
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2. Take measures to address the debt-bias in corporate taxation p.11 p.12(17) p.12(19)
p.12
and extend the application of the standard VAT rate. p.11 p.12 p.17
p.9(12) p.10(13) p.12(18)
p.12-13
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3. Curb age-related expenditure by making long-term care more cost effective, in particular through a stronger focus on prevention, rehabilitation and independent living,
p.12-13 p.11
strengthening the recently adopted pension reform, p.12
p.12(16) p.12(18) p.14(23)
p.11
taking additional measures to curb early retirement p.12(18) p.14(23) p.19(32)
p.11
and increasing the effective retirement age by aligning retirement age or pension benefits to change in life expectancy.
p.12(18) p.14(23)
p.11 p.18
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S 4. Beyond the current freeze, take further structural measures, in consultation with the social partners and in accordance with national practices, to reform the wage setting system, including wage indexation, to improve its responsiveness to productivity and sectoral developments and labour market conditions and foster competitiveness.
p.13-14
p.7(5)
p.17(30)
p. 17(31)
p.18
(Box5)
p.19(33)
p.10(16)
p.13(19)
p.41(7)
p.41(10)
p.44(15)
p.23
Step up efforts to diversify the structure of the economy, fostering private investment in research, notably by developing cooperation between public research and firms.
p.17(29) p.37(1) p.23
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IS 5. Step up efforts to reduce youth unemployment by improving the design
and monitoring of active labour market policies. p.16
p.13
(Box4)
p.19(32)
p.16(29)
p. 45(16) p.17-18
Strengthen general and vocational education to better match young people’s skills with labour demand, in particular for people with migrant background. p.16-17
p.17(30)
p.19(32) p.45(16) p.19-20
Reinforce efforts to increase the participation rate of older workers, including by improving their employability through lifelong learning. p.17 p.45(16) p.20
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6. Step up measures to meet the target for reducing non-ETS greenhouse gas emissions, p.17-18 p.13
in particular by increasing taxation on energy products for transport. p.17-18 p. 24
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1. Implement a credible and growth friendly fiscal strategy by specifying the necessary measures focusing on expenditure savings and
p.6 p.50-51 p.32-34 p.6(7)
p.11(19) p.23 p.25 p.7
preserve a sound fiscal position in compliance with the medium-term objective over the programme horizon.
p.6 p.50-51
p.31-32 p.35-40
p.10(17) p.10(18) p.23 p.7-11
Building on the above steps, put the general government debt ratio on a firm downward path, also with a view to mitigating the accumulated macroeconomic imbalances.
p.6 p. 51
p.31-32 p.41-44
p.6(7) p.10(17) p.10(18)
p.23-25 p.11
Enhance the medium-term budgetary framework by making it more binding and p.6 p.31 p.55-57
p.12(20) p.26-27 p.12
by closely linking it to numerical rules. p.7 p.55-57 p.12(20) p.26-27 p.12
Broaden the mandatory remit and p.7 p.51-52 p.12(20) p.27 p.12
enhance the transparency of the Fiscal Council, including through systematic ex- post monitoring of compliance with numerical fiscal rules as well as
p.7 p.51-52 p.12(20) p.12
the preparation of regular macro-fiscal forecasts and p.7 p.12
budgetary impact assessments of major policy proposals. p.7 p.12
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2. Help restore normal lending to the economy primarily by improving the capacity for capital accumulation in the financial sector, inter alia by lowering the extra burden currently imposed on it.
p.7-8 p.53-56 p.14(28)
p.14(29) p.21-22 p.18-19
Improve portfolio quality by removing bad assets from banks' balance sheets, p.8 p.56 p.6(9)
p.14(28) p.21-22 p.19-20
closely consult stakeholders on new policy initiatives and N/A
make sure that new policy measures do not increase moral hazard among borrowers. p.14(28) p.20
Enhance financial regulation and supervision, notably by giving more effective emergency powers to the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority and
p.8 p.56 p.15(31) p.23 p.20-21
by establishing a bank resolution regime. p.8 p.56 p.15(31) p.20-21
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3. Ensure a stable, more balanced and predictable corporate tax system. p.10 p.60 p.17(35) p.29(3)
p.40(25) p.25 p.13-14
Streamline corporate taxation and p.10 p.60 p.11(19) p.29(3) p.14-15
minimise distortions of resource allocation created by sector-specific taxes, so as to foster growth and employment.
p.10-11 p.58-60 p.11(19)
p.17(36) p.40(26) p.23 p.25 p.14-15
Continue making taxation of labour more employment- friendly by alleviating the tax burden on low-wage earners, inter alia by refining the eligibility criteria for the Job Protection Act,
p.9-10 p.57-58 p.11(19)
p.29(3) p.31(Box) p.31(12) p.40(23)
p.35-36 p.16-17
and by shifting taxation away to environmental taxes. p.9 p.25 p.17 Fully implement and step up the already announced measures to improve tax compliance and
p.11 p.62-63 p.11(19)
p.17(35) p.36(13) p.25-26 p.17-18
reduce the cost of tax compliance. p.62-63 p.36(13) p.17-18
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4. Address youth unemployment, for example through a Youth Guarantee. p.13 p.64-68
p.31 (Box1)
p.30(43) p.34-35 p.21-22
Strengthen active labour market policy measures and p.13 p.68 p.17(35)
p.29(3) p.43
(30-32)
p.26 p.34 p.21-22
enhance the client profiling system of the Public Employment Service. p.14 p.70-74 p.44(34) p.37 p.23
Reduce the dominance of the public works scheme within employment measures and p.13 p.21
(Box2) p.43
(30-31) p.34 p.37 p.23
strengthen its activation elements. p.13-14 p.69-70 p.44(34) p.37 p.23
Reinforce training programmes to boost participation in lifelong learning. p.14-15 p.75-79 p.29(3) p.37 p.22-23
Continue to expand child-care facilities to encourage women's participation. p.15-16 p.79-81 p.48 p.37(17)
p.39(21) p.26 p.23
Ensure that the objective of the National Social Inclusion Strategy is mainstreamed in all policy fields in order to reduce poverty, particularly among children and Roma.
p.24-25
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5. Create a supportive business environment, in particular restore an attractive environment for foreign direct investors, by making the regulatory framework more stable and
p.17 p.82-84 p.17(36) p.29(3)
p.40(26) p.28-29 p.26-27
by fostering market competition. p.18 p.82-84 p.28-30 p.26-27
p.29
Ensure the full implementation of measures envisaged to reduce the administrative burden,
p.17-18 p.83-84 p.17(35)
p.29(3) p.40(25) p.40(26)
p.28 p.35
improve competition in public procurement and p.18 p.85-86 p.26
p.40 p.37
take further adequate measures to tackle corruption. p.19 p.86-89 p.35-36
Strengthen further the judiciary. p.20 p.80-82 p.29-30 p.37
Remove recently introduced barriers in the services sector, including in retail services. p.18 p.28-29
p.31 p.26 p.29
Provide targeted incentives to support innovative enterprises. p.18 p.84 p.28
p.30 p.30
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6. Implement a national strategy on early school-leaving and p.21 p.93-101 p.23
ensure that the education system provides all young people with labour-market-relevant skills, competences and qualifications.
p.22-24 p.102 p.38 p.24
Improve access to inclusive mainstream education, for those with disadvantages, in particular Roma.
p.22 p.103-
105 p.38 p.24
Support the transition between different stages of education and towards the labour market.
p.22-23 p.105-
106 p.38 p.22
Implement a higher-education reform that enables greater tertiary attainment, particularly by disadvantaged students.
p.24 p.106-
112 p.38-39 p.24-25
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7. Gradually abolish regulated energy prices while ensuring the effective protection of economically vulnerable consumers. p.25 p.17(35) p.31-33 p.31-32
Take further steps to ensure the independence of the national regulator. p.25 p.113 p.17(35) p.32
Ensure the financial sustainability of state owned enterprises in the transport sector by reducing operating costs and increasing revenues.
p.26-27 p.114-
115 p.39-40 p.33
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1. Specify and implement the measures needed to achieve the annual structural adjustment effort set out in the Council recommendations under the EDP in order to correct the excessive deficit by 2014 in a sustainable and growth-friendly manner, limiting recourse to one- off/temporary measures.
p.9
p.19-21
p.57-58
p.7(9)
p.9(12) p.6-8
After correcting the excessive deficit, pursue the structural adjustment effort at an appropriate pace so as to reach the MTO by 2019.
p.9
p.22-28
p.7(10)
p.18(28)
p.6-7
p.9
Put in place a binding, rule-based multiannual fiscal framework in 2013. p.9 p.63-64 p.7(9)
p.19(30) p.12
Ensure concrete delivery of measures taken to increase tax compliance p.10 p.58 p.12
and fight tax evasion, p.10 p.57-58
and take action to reduce the debt bias in corporate taxation. p.10 p.13
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2. To ensure the long-term sustainability of public finances, continue to reform the pension system to curb the projected increase in expenditure, including by measures such as accelerating the increase in the statutory retirement age,
p.11 p.50-51 p.8(11)
p.18(29) p.10
increasing the effective retirement age by aligning retirement age or pension benefits to changes in life expectancy and p.11 p.50-51
p.8(11)
p.18(20) p.10-11
by encouraging private pension savings. p.11 p.8(11) p.11
Take measures to increase the employment rate of older workers by finalising and implementing a comprehensive active ageing strategy. pp.11-12
p.10
p.16
Pursue health-care reforms to increase the cost-effectiveness of the sector, in particular by strengthening public primary care provision. pp.12-13
p.8(11)
p.18(29) p.11
Improve the efficiency and reduce the length of public procurement procedures.
p.13
p.15(19) p.23
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3. Continue to pursue policy efforts to reduce early school leaving, notably by setting up a comprehensive monitoring system, p.14 p.15(21) p.17-18
and increase the labour-market relevance of education and training to address skills gaps, including through the announced reform of the apprenticeship system.
pp.14-15
p.15(21)
p.15(22) p.18
Continue supporting the improving labour-market participation of women by promoting flexible working arrangements, pp.15-16 p.16-17
in particular by enhancing the provision and affordability of child-care and out-of-school centres. pp.15-16
p.15(21)
p.15(12) p.16-17
STR
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4. Continue efforts to diversify the energy mix and energy sources, in particular through increasing the take up of renewable energy and p.17 p.21
the timely completion of the electricity link with Sicily.
p.18 p.9(12) p.20
Maintain efforts to promote energy efficiency and pp.18-19 p.21
reduce emissions from the transport sector.
pp.19-20 p.21
FIN
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L SE
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5. Take measures to further strengthen the provisions for loan-impairment losses in the banking sector to mitigate potential risks arising from exposure to the real estate market.
p.21
p.11(15) p.12(16) p.17(12) p.19(32)
p.14
Maintain policy effort to ensure strict banking sector supervision, including for the non-core domestic and internationally-oriented banks. pp.21-22
p.10(14) p.11(15) p.12(16) p.19(33)
p.14
Improve the overall efficiency of the judicial system, for example by reducing the time needed to resolve insolvency cases. pp.22-23
p.15(20)
p.16(22)
p.19(34)
p.24
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IC F
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ES 1. Reinforce and implement the budgetary strategy, supported by sufficiently
specified measures, for the year 2014 and beyond to ensure a timely correction of the excessive deficit by 2014 in a sustainable manner and
p. 3-5 p.15-16 p.20 p.7
achieve the structural adjustment effort specified in the Council recommendations under the EDP. p.3-5 p.7-8
Protect expenditure in areas directly relevant for growth such as education, innovation and research. p. 3-5 p.7
p.10
After the correction of the excessive deficit, pursue the structural adjustment effort that will enable the Netherlands reaching the medium- term objective by 2015. p.16-17 p.15 p. 20 p.8
FIN
AN
CIA
L SE
CTO
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2.Step up efforts to gradually reform the housing market by accelerating the planned reduction in mortgage interest tax deductibility, while taking into account the impact in the current economic environment, and
p. 18-19 p.6 p.32-33 p. 52
p.17 p.25-26
by providing for a more market-oriented pricing mechanism in the rental market, and p.19 p.6 p.32
p.52 p.25-26
by further relating rents to household income in the social housing sector. p.19-20 p.7 p.32 p.53 p.26
Refocus social housing corporations to support households most in need. p.20 p.7 p.32-33 p.53 p.26-27
PUBL
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3. Adjust the second pension pillar, in consultation with social partners, to ensure an appropriate intra- and inter-generational division of costs and risks. p.21-23 p.9 p.21 p.15
p.21
Underpin the gradual increase of the statutory retirement age with measures to increase the employability of older workers. p.23-24 p.9 p.15
p.22
Implement the planned reform of the long-term care system to ensure its cost-effectiveness and p. 24-25 p.9-10 p.21-22 p.15-16
p.23
complement it with further measures to contain the increase in costs, with a view to ensure sustainability. p. 24-25 p.10 p.21
p.54 p.15-16
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4. Take further measures to enhance participation in the labour market, particularly of people at the margin of the labour market. p. 26-28 p.8-9 p.42 p.20-22
Continue to reduce tax disincentives on labour, including by phasing-out of transferable tax credits for second income earners. p. 29-30 p.8 p.42 p.16-17
p.21
Foster labour market transitions and address labour market rigidities, including by reforming employment protection legislation and p. 30-31 p.9 p.40-42
p.50 p.20-22
the unemployment benefit system. p.31 p. 9 p.50 p.20-22
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PUBL
IC F
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ES 1. Implement the budget for the year 2013 as envisaged so as to correct the excessive
deficit in a sustainable manner p.1-2 p.13-14 p.6-7
and achieve the average annual structural adjustment effort specified in the Council recommendations under the Excessive Deficit Procedure. p.1-2 p.16 p.16(28) p.7-8
After correction of the excessive deficit, pursue the structural adjustment effort at an appropriate pace so as to reach the MTO by 2015. p.3-5 p.14-15 p.19(36) p.6-9
Streamline fiscal relations between layers of government, for example simplifying the organisational setting and aligning spending and funding responsibilities. p.4 p.3 p.21
p.17(29) p.17(30)
p.20(Box3) p.20(47)
p.12(9) p.9(10) p.14(11)
p.10-11
PUBL
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2. Bring forward the harmonisation of pensionable age for men and women, increasing the effective retirement age by aligning retirement age or pension benefits to changes in life expectancy,
p.5 p.3 p.24 p.20(Box3)
p.23(42) p.24(47)
p.8(11) p.12 p.15
implement and monitor the recent reforms restricting access to early retirement and p.6 p.4-11 p.8(11) p.12(10)
p.11-12 p.15
further improve older workers’ employability in order to raise the effective retirement age and the employment rate of older workers. p.6-7 p.4-11 p.24 p.20(Box3) p.8(11) p.11-12
p.16
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3. Take new measures to increase the labour market participation of women, namely by further improving child care and long-term care services and p.7-8 p.15-20 p.16
address the high gender pay and pension gaps. p.8 p.20-22 p.16
Fully use the labour market potential of people with a migrant background by continuing to improve the recognition of their qualifications and their education outcomes.
p.8-9 p.22-23 p.16
Reduce the effective tax and social security burden on labour for low-income earners in a budget-neutral way by relying more on other sources of taxation less detrimental to growth, such as recurrent property taxes.
p.9 p.24 p.16(27)
p.18(31-34) p.24(46)
p.12-13
PUBL
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4. Effectively implement the recent reforms of the health care system to make sure that the expected cost efficiency gains materialise. p.9 p.24-26 p.23-24
p.17(29) p.20
(Box3) p.24(47)
p.14(11) p.14(12) p.18
Develop a financially sustainable model for the provision of long-term care and p.9-10 p.26-27 p.18
put a stronger focus on prevention, rehabilitation and independent living. p.14(12) p.18
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5. Improve educational outcomes, in particular of disadvantaged young people, including by enhancing early childhood education and p.9 p.28-46 p.17
reducing the negative effects of early tracking. p.9-10 p.28-46 p.17
Further improve strategic planning in higher education and p.46-48 p.17-18
enhance measures to reduce drop- outs. p.10-11 p.48-52 p.17-18
STR
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TUR
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6. Further strengthen the powers and resources of the federal competition authority and p.10-11 p.52-53 p.20
monitor the implementation of the competition law reform. p.11 p.52-53 p.20
Remove excessive barriers for service providers. This includes reviewing whether existing restrictions on entry and conduct in regulated professions are justified by general interest and
p.11 p.53-55 p.22(41) p.19
fostering competition notably in the railway sector. p.11 p.53-55 p.12(10) p.20-21
FIN
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7. With a view to maintaining financial stability continue to closely oversee the nationalised and partly nationalised banks and p.12 p.56 p.13(25)
p.23(44)
speed up their restructuring. p.12 p.56
p.10(17) p.12(21) p.13(23) p.23(44) p.24(47)
p.13-14
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1. Reinforce and implement the budgetary strategy for the year 2013 and beyond, supported by sufficiently specified measures for both 2013 and p.18-22 p.14(23) p.24-25 p.7-8
2014, to ensure a timely correction of the excessive deficit by 2014 in a sustainable manner and the achievement of the fiscal effort specified in the Council recommendations under the EDP. A durable correction of the fiscal imbalances requires credible implementation of ambitious structural reforms, which would increase the adjustment capacity and boost potential growth and employment.
p.18-22 p.33-38
p.14(24) p.14(25) p.15(27)
p.25-28 p.7-10
After the correction of the excessive deficit, pursue the structural adjustment effort that will enable Poland reaching the medium-term objective by 2016. p.26-38
p.14(25) p.15(27) p.20(45)
p.9
With a view to improving the quality of public finances minimise cuts in growth-enhancing investment, p.16-17 p.14(25) p.27 p.10
reassess expenditure policies improving the targeting of social policies and p.28 p.33-34 p.20
increasing the cost effectiveness and efficiency of spending in the healthcare sector. p.49 p.53-54
p.62-64 p.13
Improve tax compliance, in particular by increasing the efficiency of the tax administration p.60-61 p.14(25) p.27 p.13-14
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2. Ensure the enactment of a permanent expenditure rule in 2013 consistent with the rules of the European System of Accounts. p.62-64
p.12(Box4) p.14(23) p.14(25) p.26(45)
p.28 p.11
Take measures to strengthen annual and medium-term budgetary coordination mechanisms among different levels of government. p.62-65 p.28 p.12
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3. Strengthen efforts to reduce youth unemployment, for example through a Youth Guarantee,
p.11 p.14-16
p.18 p.48-51
p.19(39) p. 33 p. 36 p.18-19
increase the availability of apprenticeships and work-based learning, p.48-52 p. 33 p. 36 p.18-19
strengthen cooperation between schools and employers and p.48-49 p.36
improve the quality of teaching. p.48-50 p.36 p.19
Adopt the proposed life- long learning strategy. p.48-49 p.20
Combat in-work poverty and labour market segmentation including through better transition from fixed-term to permanent employment and p.57-58 p.18(36)
p.18(37) p.32-33 p.18
by reducing the excessive use of civil law contracts. p.32-33 p.18
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4. Continue efforts to increase female labour market participation, in particular by investing in affordable quality childcare and pre-school education,
p.12 p.17 p.34-35 p.17-18
by ensuring stable funding and qualified staff. With a view to improving sectoral labour mobility, take permanent steps to reform the farmers' social security scheme KRUS.
p.22-23 p.57-58 p.27
p.36 p.19
Phase out the special pension system for miners with a view to integrating them into the general scheme. p.22 p.12(Box4)
p.15(26) p.27 p.32 p.36
p.19
Underpin the general pension reform with measures promoting the employability of older workers to raise exit ages from the labour market.
p.13 p.19-20 p.15(26) p.34
p.36 p.17
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5. Take additional measures to ensure an innovation-friendly business environment by strengthening the links between research, innovation and industrial policy,
p.25 p.35
p.12(Box4) p.18(35) p.18(36)
p.24
by further developing revolving instruments and tax incentives and p.27 p.35 p.24-25
by better targeting existing instruments to the different stages of the innovation cycle. p.24-25
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6. Renew and extend energy generation capacity and p.39 p.41 p.26 improve efficiency in the whole energy chain. p.41-43 p.26 Speed up and extend the development of the electricity grid, including cross-border interconnections, and p.43-45 p.31
p.41 p.26
eliminate obstacles in electricity cross border exchange. p.41 p.26
Reinforce competition in the gas sector by phasing out regulated prices. p.37 p.45-46 p.40-41 p.26
Strengthen the role and resources of the railway market regulator and p.29 p.22 ensure effective implementation of railway investment projects without further delay. p.64-65 p.22
Accelerate efforts to increase broadband coverage. p.65-66 p.31 p.40-41 p.25
Improve waste and water management. p.40-41 p.67-68 p.25
STR
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7. Take further steps to improve the business environment by simplifying contract enforcement and requirements for construction permits and
p.69 p.71-72 p.18(37) p.28
by reducing tax compliance costs. p.70-71 p.14(25) p.28 p.14
Adopt and implement the planned liberalisation of access to professional services. p.73-74
p.12(Box4) p.18(36) p.18(37)
p.41 p.26
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1. For the year 2013 and beyond, implement and reinforce the budgetary strategy, supported by sufficiently specified structural measures, to ensure the correction of the excessive deficit by 2015 in a sustainable manner and
p. 7-8
p. 13-14; 15-20
p. 5(4) p. 6(10) p. 8(15) p. 15(29)
p. 7-9
the improvement of the structural balance specified in the Council recommendation under the EDP. p. 13 p. 16(31) p. 8-9
After the correction of the excessive deficit, pursue a structural adjustment effort that will enable Slovenia to reach the MTO which should be set in line with the Stability and Growth Pact by 2017. Durable correction of the fiscal imbalances requires the implementation of ambitious structural reforms, which would increase the adjustment capacity of the economy and boost potential growth and employment.
p. 20-21 p. 6(10) p. 15(30) p. 16(32)
p. 9-11
Safeguard growth-friendly spending, p. 7 p. 17 p. 8(15) p. 15(29) p. 16(31)
p. 9-11
adopt measures to improve tax compliance and p. 8 p. 17 p. 14-15
implement measures on the expenditure side underpinned by systematic reviews of public expenditure at all government levels. p. 8 p. 18-20 p. 8(15) p. 9-11
To improve the credibility of consolidation, complete the adoption of a general government budget balance/surplus rule in structural terms, p. 9 p. 37-38 p. 8(15)
p. 17(33) p. 11-12
make the medium-term budgetary framework binding, encompassing and transparent, and p. 38 p. 17(33) p. 11-12
strengthen the role of independent bodies monitoring fiscal policy by end 2013. p. 9 p. 38 p. 17(33) p. 11-12
Take measures to gradually reduce the contingent liabilities of the state. p. 17 p. 9-11
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2. Strengthen the long-term sustainability of the pension system beyond 2020 by further adjusting all relevant parameters, including through linking the statutory retirement age to gains in life expectancy,
p. 10 p. 15(30)
p. 16(32)
p. 4(5)
p. 5(8)
p.6(9)
p. 10(17)
p. 13
while preserving the adequacy of pensions. p. 10 p. 16(31) p. 6(10) p. 30
Contain age-related expenditure on long-term care and p. 11-12 p. 16(32) p. 4(3)
p. 16(29) p. 14
improve access to services by refocusing care provision from institutional to home care,
p. 11-12 p. 16(29) p. 13-14
sharpening targeting of benefits, p. 11-12 p. 4(3) p. 13-14
and reinforcing prevention to reduce disability/ dependency. p. 12 p. 13-14
EMPL
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S 3. Ensure that wage developments, including the minimum wage, support competitiveness and job creation.
p. 14-15 p. 18(36) p.32(14) p. 28
Monitor closely the effects of the recent labour market reform and p. 17(35)
p. 18(36) p. 27
if necessary identify the areas where further action is needed to foster job creation and tackle segmentation, including through the regulation for student work.
p. 13-14 p. 18(38) p. 29
Take further measures to increase employment of young tertiary graduates, older persons and the low-skilled by focusing resources on tailor-made active labour market policy measures while improving their effectiveness.
p. 13-14 p. 18(36)
p. 20(48) p. 28
Address the skills mismatch by improving the attractiveness of the relevant vocational education and training programmes and
p.14 p. 30
by further developing cooperation with the relevant stakeholders in assessing labour market needs.
p. 14 p. 18(37) p.32(14)
p.33(15) p. 29-30
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4. Take the necessary steps, with input from European partners, to contract an independent external adviser in June 2013 to conduct a system-wide bank asset quality review.
p. 16 p. 8(15) p. 15
Complete this exercise in 2013, with faster progress in the cases of the two banks already subject to the state aid procedure, to accelerate their balance sheet repair.
p. 16 p. 8(15)
p. 11(20) p. 15
Stand ready to provide additional capital should the asset transfer or asset quality review reveal additional shortfalls.
p. 16 p. 11(20) p. 15
All measures, including objective assessments of capital needs, transfer of assets to Bank Asset Management Company, asset protection scheme, operational implementation of the restructuring measures should be implemented in full compliance with state aid rules in case state aid is involved.
p. 17
p. 8(15)
p. 10(18)
p. 11(22)
p. 13 (Box 1)
p. 15-16
In parallel, develop by March 2014 and implement a comprehensive sector strategy to ensure arms-length management of reformed banks and to substantially improve governance, risk management and profitability in the sector, including through consolidation where appropriate.
p. 17 p. 10(19)
p. 11(22) p. 16
Swiftly proceed with preparations for the announced privatisation of NKBM p. 17
p. 8(15)
p. 10(19)
p. 11(22)
p. 16
p. 19
and establish, by September 2013, an ambitious timetable for the divestment of direct and indirect state shareholdings of banks.
p. 14(27) p. 16-17
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R 5. Review the bank regulatory framework by end 2013, and p. 17-18 p. 15
based on this review, strengthen supervisory capacity, transparency and statistical disclosure.
p.18 p. 15
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6. Accelerate the reform of regulated services, including a significant reduction of entry barriers.
p.19 p. 23
Improve the business environment, including through ensuring the independence of and providing sufficient and autonomous financing to the Competition Protection Agency.
p.19 p. 23-24
7. Build on previous efforts to further reduce the length of judicial proceedings at first instance in litigious civil and commercial cases and the number of pending cases, in particular enforcement cases.
p. 19-20 p. 31
8. As part of the planned strategy of the government, to be completed by September 2013, classify core and non-core state assets according to economic criteria, with a view to divesting non-core assets.
p.21 p. 19-20
Make the Slovenia Sovereign Holding (SSH) fully operational in a timely manner, p.21 p. 8(15)
p. 14(26) p. 20
and transfer both ownership and management of all stakes to the SSH, potentially excluding those that are on the list for immediate full privatisation.
p.21 p. 20
Ensure professional management of the SSH from the outset, potentially including international expertise, and a clearly defined arms' length relationship with the companies involved.
p.21 p. 14(26) p. 20
For core stakes, develop sector-specific strategies to improve profitability and corporate governance.
p.21 p. 20
Introduce an obligatory and publicly available register of management and supervisory board appointments in state-owned enterprises with requirements for disclosure of interests.
p.21 p. 20
Ensure that the regulatory framework facilitates divestment of non-core state assets and that administrative hurdles are minimised.
p.21 p. 20
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9. Identify and start to work on removing all existing legal and administrative impediments to sustainable restructuring of over-indebted/undercapitalised but viable companies through market-based solutions.
p. 22-23 p. 13
(Box 1)
p. 14(25)
p. 41(5)
p. 43(6)
p. 43(7)
p. 18
In this context, take measures to ensure sufficient private burden sharing, to increase private investment, including foreign direct investment, and
p.22-24 p. 12(23)
p. 14(27)
p. 32(14)
p. 33(15)
p. 44(8)
p. 18
to achieve efficiency gains in troubled companies as part of the restructuring process.
p.24 p. 44(9)
p.44(12) p. 18
Adopt the necessary legal framework for out-of-court restructuring by September 2013, ensuring that it is coherent with the existing provisions on insolvency and provides incentives for both creditors and shareholders to reach out-of-court restructuring agreements.
p.24-25
p. 8(15)
p. 10(18)
p. 12(23)
p. 13 (Box 1)
p. 14(25)
p. 32(14)
p. 41(4)
p. 42 (Box 1)
p. 18
Improve the enforcement of corporate insolvency procedures and in-court settlements, including swiftly resolving pending court cases related to bankruptcy procedures, in order to maximise recovery value and to facilitate the timely and efficient resolution of non-performing loans.
p.24-25
p. 10(18)
p. 13 (Box 1)
p. 14(25)
p. 32(14)
p. 33(15)
p. 43(6)
p. 43(7)
p.44(12)
p. 45(14)
p. 45(16)
p. 46(17)
p. 47(19)
p. 18
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1. Implement as envisaged the budget for the year 2013, so as to correct the excessive deficit in a sustainable manner and
p.14 p.26 p.27-32 p.5(4)
p.15(17) p.18 p.6
achieve the fiscal effort specified in the Council recommendations under EDP p.24 p.15(17) p.7
After the correction of the excessive deficit, pursue the structural adjustment effort that will enable Slovakia to reach the medium-term objective by 2017.
p.26-8 p.29-31 p.32-38 p.16(18)
p.16(19) p.18-19 p.6-8 p.10
Avoid cuts in growth enhancing expenditure and p.14 p.28-29
p.37 p.63-65
p.16(20) p.16(21) p.16(22)
p.7
step up efforts to improve the efficiency of public spending. p.14 p.28-29
p.37 p.61-62
p.14(16) p.17(21) p.18(24)
p.23-24 p.28-29 p.7-8
Building on the pension reform already adopted, further improve the long term sustainability of public finance by reducing the financing gap in the public pension system and
p.14-15 p.54-55 p.19(26) p.19(27) p.19 p.12
increasing the cost-effectiveness of the health-care sector. p.32 p.35
p.61-64 p.54-55 p.18(24) p.12-13
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2. Speed up the implementation of the action plan to combat tax fraud p.15 p.58 p.18(23) p.19(27) p.19-20 p.14
and continue efforts to improve VAT collection, in particular by strengthening the analytical and audit capacity of the tax administration. p.15-16 p.58-59
p.5(4) p.17(21) p.18(23) p.19(27)
p.18-19
p.24 p.26
p.14-15
Improve tax compliance. p.16 p.36 p.58 p.18(23) p.20 p.6
p.14
Link real-estate taxation to the market value of property. p.35 p.61 p.18(23) p.19(27) p.18
p.29 p.15
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3. Take measures to enhance the capacity of public employment services to provide personalised services to jobseekers and
p.16 p.45 p.11(15)
p.14(16) p.33-34 p.17
strengthen the link between activation measures and social assistance. p.17 p.50
p.34 p.17
More effectively address long-term unemployment through activation measures and tailored training.
p.17 p.48 p.11(15)
p.14(16) p.34-35
Improve incentives for women employment, by enhancing the provision of child-care facilities, in particular for children below three years of age.
p.17 p.49 p.21 p.17
Reduce the tax wedge for low-paid workers and p.11(15) p.14(16) p.21
p.34 p.17-18
adapt the benefit system. p.17 p.11(15) p.14(16) p.34 p.17
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4. Step up efforts to address high youth unemployment, for example through a Youth Guarantee.
p.17 p.46-47 p.11(15)
p.14(16) p.21 p.35-37 p.18
Take steps to attract young people to the teaching profession and p.38-40 p.11(15) p.14(16) p.44 p.19
raise educational outcomes. p.38-40 p.11(15) p.14(16) p.29
p.35-36 p.19-20
In vocational education and training, reinforce the provision of work-based learning in companies.
p.18 p.40 p.11(15)
p.14(16) p.9(12) p.21 p.35-36 p.20
In higher education, create more job-oriented bachelor programmes. p.18 p.40-41 p.20
Foster effective knowledge transfer by promoting cooperation between academia, research and the business sector.
p.18 p.38 p.41
p.37-38 p.22
Step up efforts to improve access to high-quality and inclusive pre-school and school education for marginalised communities, including Roma.
p.18 p.38-39
p.49 p.11(15)
p.14(16) p.21 p.36 p.21
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5. Step up efforts to make the energy market function better; p.18 p.22 p.26 p.24-26
in particular, to increase the transparency of the tariff-setting mechanism, p.9(12) p.26 p.24-25
enhance the accountability of the regulator. p.24-25
Strengthen interconnections with neighbouring countries. p.18 p.26
Improve energy efficiency in particular in buildings and industry. p.18-19 11(15) p.26-27
6. Take measures, including by amending the Act on Civil Service, to strengthen the independence of the public service. p.57 p.11(15) p.24-25 p.27-28
Improve the management of human resources in public administration. p.19-20 p.56-57 p.14(16)
p.17(21) p.23-24 p.27
Step up efforts to strengthen analytical capacities in key ministries, also with a view to improving the absorption of EU funds. p.58
p.11(15) p.14(16) p.18(24)
p.9(12) p.23-24
p.26 p.27-28
p.27
Implement measures to improve the efficiency of the judicial system. p.59-60 p.11(15) p.26 p.28
Promote alternative dispute resolution procedures and encourage their greater use. p.60 p.28
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1. Pursue a growth-friendly fiscal policy and preserve a sound fiscal position as envisaged, ensuring compliance with the MTO over the programme horizon. p.15-16 p.18-19
p.4(3) p.11(26) p.11(28) p.17(48)
p.26-27 p.6-10 p.12-13
Continue to carry out annual assessments of the size of the ageing-related sustainability gap and p.15 p.23-29 p. 23 p. 26 p.11
adjust public revenue and expenditure in accordance with long-term objectives and needs. p.15 p.31-35 p. 26 p.11
Ensure the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of long-term care and put a stronger focus on prevention, rehabilitation and independent living. p.16-17 p. 29-30 p.12
STR
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2. Ensure effective implementation of the on-going administrative reforms concerning the municipal structure, in order to deliver productivity gains and cost savings in the provision of public services,
p.17-18 p.8(14) p.13(30) p. 27, 33
p. 36-37 p.24
including social and healthcare services. p.19 p.8(14) p.17(46) p. 37-38 p.24
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3. Take further steps to increase the employment rate of older workers, including by improving their employability and reducing early exit pathways,
p. 20-21 p. 24-25 p.7(12) p.31-32 p.15
increasing the effective retirement age by aligning retirement age or pension benefits to changes in life expectancy. p.23-24
p.7(12) p.7(14) p.7(15)
p.13(30)
p.27 p.29-31 p.14
Implement and monitor closely the impact of on-going measures to improve the labour-market position of young people and p.21-22 p.8(14)
p.8(15) p. 32-33 p.16
the long-term unemployed, with a particular focus on the development of job-relevant skills. p.22 p.8(14) p.32-33 p.16
STR
UC
TUR
AL
POLI
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4. Continue efforts to enhance competition in product and service markets, especially in the retail sector, by implementing the new programme on promoting healthy competition.
p.25-27
p.7(13) p.7(16) p.7(18)
p.17(46)
p.20 p.22-23
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5. Boost Finland's capacity to deliver innovative products, services and high-growth companies in a rapidly changing environment, and continue diversification of the industry;
p.28-33 p.9(16) p.17(46) p.19-20 p.19-21
continue to improve the overall energy efficiency in the economy. p. 29 p,33-34 p.20-22 p.22
In the current low-growth environment, support the alignment of real wage and productivity developments whilst fully respecting the role of social partners and in line with national practices.
p. 34-36 p.9(17) p.17(46) p.18 p.16
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1. Implement the measures necessary to pursue a growth-friendly fiscal policy and p.37-40
p.7-9
Preserve a sound fiscal position ensuring compliance with the medium-term objective over the programme horizon.
p.7-9
p.39-40
p.42-45
p.14(30)
p.14(31) p.7-10
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NC
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2. Continue addressing risks related to private debt by reducing the debt bias in housing taxation by phasing out tax deductibility of interest payments on mortgages or/and increasing property taxes.
p.15
p.6(6)
p.8(12-16)
p.13(28)
p.14(31)
p.5(5)
p.12(15)
p.12
p.14-16
Take further measures to foster prudent lending by measures promoting amortisation of mortgages. p.14-15
p.8(13)
p.5(5)
p.12(15)
p.14(17) (18) (19)
p.14-16
Further reduce the debt-bias in corporate taxation. p.15
p.8(8)
p.8(9)
p.9(10)
p.12
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R 3. Improve the efficiency of the housing market by continued reforms of the rent
setting system p.16-17 p.9(16)
p.13(28) p.22-23
and strengthening the freedom of contract between individual tenants and landlords. p.16-17
p.22-23
Promote increased competition in the construction sector and p.17 p.13(16) p.22
review the planning, zoning and approval processes with the aim of increasing transparency, shortening lead times and reducing entry barriers for construction companies.
p.17-19 p.9(16)
p.13(28) p.13(16) p.22
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4. Reinforce efforts to improve the labour-market integration of low-skilled young people p.21-22
p.12(26)
p.12(27)
p.37(3)
p.37(3)
p.46(17)
p.18
and people with a migrant background by stronger and better targeted measures to improve their employability and the labour demand for these groups. p.24 p.12(26)
p.37(3)
p.37(4)
p.46(17)
p.20
Step up efforts to facilitate the transition from school to work, including via a wider use of work-based learning, apprenticeships and other forms of contracts combining employment and education.
p.21-23 p.12(26)
p.12(27)
p.47(18)
p.48(20) p.18-19
Complete the Youth Guarantee to better cover young people not in education or training. p.23
p.17
p.19
Complete and draw conclusions from the review of the effectiveness of the current reduced VAT rate for restaurants and catering services in support of job creation. p.25-26 p.12
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1. Implement a reinforced budgetary strategy, supported by sufficiently specified measures, for the year 2013-14 and beyond. p. 14 p.17-19
p.53-54 p. 7-9
Ensure the correction of the excessive deficit in a sustainable manner by 2014/15, p. 13-14 p.19 p.53-54 p.14(26) p.6-7
p.9
and the achievement of the fiscal effort specified in the Council recommendations under the EDP p. 13-14 p.19 p.9
and set the high public debt ratio on a sustained downward path. A durable correction of the fiscal imbalances requires the credible implementation of ambitious structural reforms which would increase the adjustment capacity and boost potential growth.
p.13 p.18-19 p.25-26
p.14(27) p.14(30) p. 10
Pursue a differentiated, growth-friendly approach to fiscal tightening, including through prioritising timely capital expenditure with high economic returns and p.181-
184 p.14(25) p.14(27)
through a balanced approach to the composition of consolidation measures and promoting medium and long-term fiscal sustainability. p.14 p.22-23
p.14(26) p.14(27) p.1429) p.14(30)
p. 7-9
In order to raise revenue, make greater use of the standard rate of VAT. p.152-153 p.15(29) p. 12
FIN
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L SE
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R 2. Take further action to increase housing supply, including through further
liberalisation of spatial planning laws and p.8(6) p.23
an efficient operation of the planning system. p.16 p.13(23) p.16(19) p.23 Ensure that housing policy, including the Help to Buy scheme does not encourage excessive and imprudent mortgage lending; p.16-17 p.13(24) p.22-23
and promote greater supply to avoid higher house prices. p.15-16 p.13(22) p.6(3) p.23
Pursue reforms including to land and property taxation to reduce distortions p.17-18 p.13(23) p.15(29) p.16(19) p.11
p.22-23
and promote timely residential construction. p.18 p.24 Take steps to improve the functioning of rental markets, in particular by making longer rental terms more attractive to both tenants and landlords. p.18 p.24
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3. Building on the Youth Contract, step up measures to address youth unemployment, for example through a Youth Guarantee. p.22-23 p.16
p.18
Increase the quality and duration of apprenticeships, p.23-24 p.20(43) p.16 simplify the system of qualifications and p.60 p.17 strengthen the engagement of employers, particularly in the provision of advanced and intermediate technical skills. p.24 p.16
Reduce the number of young people aged 18-24 who have very poor basic skills, including through effectively implementing the Traineeships programme. p.24-25 p.20(43) p.16-17
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S 4. Enhance efforts to support low-income households and p.30 p.18 reduce child poverty by ensuring that the Universal Credit and other welfare reforms deliver a fair tax-benefit system with clearer work incentives and support services.
p.30-32 p.18
Accelerate the implementation of planned measures to reduce the costs of childcare and improve its quality and availability. p.32 p.18-19
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5. Take further steps to improve the availability of bank and non-bank financing to the corporate sector, while ensuring that the measures primarily target viable companies, especially SMEs.
p.36-38 p.11(19) p.18(34) p.14
Reduce barriers to entry in the banking sector, p.38 p.15 lower switching costs and p.39 p.15 facilitate the emergence of challenger banks through a divestiture of banking assets. p.39 p.18(34) p.15
Effectively implement the Financial Policy Committee’s recommendations on prudent assessment of bank capital requirements and on addressing identified capital shortfalls.
p.39
p.11(19) p,11(20) p.16(31) p.16(32)
p.13
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6. Take measures to facilitate a timely increase in network infrastructure investment, especially by promoting more efficient and robust planning and decision-making processes.
p.43-45 p.20(43) p.19
Provide a stable regulatory framework for investment in new energy capacity, including in renewable energy. p.45 p.20-21
Improve the capacity and quality of transport networks by providing greater predictability and certainty on planning and funding and p.45-46 p.20
by harnessing the most effective mix of public and private capital sources. p.46-47 p.19-20
This is a publication of the European Council Oversight Unit EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service European Parliament
PE 547.558
ISBN: 978-92-823-7136-7
DOI: 10.2861/078262
CAT: QA-02-15-478-EN-N
www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank (Internet) − www.epthinktank.eu (blog) − www.eprs.sso.ep.parl.union.eu (Intranet)
This study provides an evaluation of the implementation of the 2013 Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) adopted by the EU Council of Finance Ministers, after endorsement by the European Council in the framework of the 2013 European Semester. CSRs aim at boosting sustainable growth and jobs while ensuring the soundness of Member States' public finances. They relate to four broad policy areas: public finances, the financial sector, structural reforms, and employment and social policies.
The text focuses on 22 EU Member States for which an IMF Country Report and/or an OECD Economic Survey was published in 2014. EU Member States, which were under an Economic Adjustment Programme – namely, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus - are not covered by this analysis, as the Commission did not issue any CSRs for them in 2013. Romania is not covered either as it was under an EU/IMF financial assistance programme.
The analysis contained in this study suggests that implementation of CSRs by EU Member States continued to lose momentum in 2013. Only 11 per cent of the CSRs were fully addressed, compared to an average of 18 per cent in 2011-12. Conversely, the rate of 'no implementation' rose to 55 per cent, from 43 per cent in 2011-12.
