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  • 1.
    book
    The quality of public expenditures in the EU. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    This report follows up on the demand formulated within the Compact for Growth and Jobs decided by the Heads of State or Government on 28-29 June 2012. This mandate required to assess and to review the scope for possible action to enhance the quality of public expenditures in the EU within the boundaries of the EU and national fiscal frameworks. The report (i) reviews trends in public expenditure in the EU with special attention to the impact of the economic and financial crisis and the subsequent fiscal adjustment, (ii) briefly discusses the different notions and indicators of expenditure efficiency, with a special focus on health care and on public administration reform, including performance-based budgeting (PBB), (iii) reviews the scope for possible actions within the boundaries of the EU budgetary frameworks to prioritise reforms towards more growth-friendly and efficient expenditures and (iv) spells out a possible way forward in the context of the European Semester.
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  • 2.
    book
    Progress towards meeting the economic criteria for EU accession : the EU Commission’s 2012 assessments. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    In this occasional paper, the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs brings together into a single document the economic chapters of the 2012 European Commission's progress reports for candidate countries and potential candidates for EU accession, of the comprehensive monitoring report (CMR) on Croatia as well as of the feasibility study on a stabilisation and association agreement with the EU for Kosovo. The Commission prepared progress reports for the candidate countries (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro and Turkey) as well as for the potential candidates (Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina). The European Commission adopted these progress reports, the CMR on Croatia and the feasibility study on Kosovo on 10 October 2012.
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  • 3.
    book
    Possible reforms of real estate taxation : criteria for successful policies. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    This paper provides a survey of theoretical and empirical findings regarding the taxation of residential property, including practical difficulties of implementing such taxes. Property taxes are one of the most unpopular types of taxes. Thus, it is politically difficult to implement any changes of the taxation of residential property that implies tax increases or major redistribution of tax payments. Moreover, in virtually all EU countries, these taxes are levied at the local level. Therefore, any major changes pose challenges for intergovernmental fiscal frameworks, requiring a reformed system of inter-jurisdictional transfers.
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  • 4.
    book
    Financial assistance programme for the recapitalisation of financial institutions in Spain : first review - Autumn 2012. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    This report provides an assessment of the progress made by Spain with respect to its financial assistance programme for the recapitalisation of financial institutions in Spain, based on the findings of a joint European Commission/European Central Bank mission to Madrid in October 2012. The mission found that the reform of the financial sector is on track. The ambitious policy conditionality of the programme has so far been met in a timely and high-quality manner. It will be important to maintain the momentum in the coming months as major challenges lie ahead, in particular the effective restructuring of banks and set-up of the asset management company.
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  • 5.
    book
    EU balance-of-payments assistance for Latvia : foundations of success. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    Latvia was the fastest growing economy in the EU from 2000 to 2007, reaching double digit real GDP growth rates in 2005-2007. However, the boom was not sustainable and significant imbalances built up during the same period. To address the crisis, Latvia reached an agreement with the EU and the IMF on a medium-term financial assistance programme in December 2008. The balance of payments assistance was provided by the EU for three years starting from January 2009. The first part of this volume focuses on Latvian competitiveness trends and the accumulation of external and internal imbalances that eventually led to the financial and economic crisis. In the second part, it turns to the economic and social impact of the measures agreed during the programme negotiations. Finally, in the third part, it investigates the political dynamics associated with the bargaining and implementation of the programme.
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  • 6.
    book
    The economic adjustment programme for Portugal : fifth review - summer 2012. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    A joint Commission/ECB/IMF mission met with the Portuguese authorities in Lisbon from 28 August to 11 September 2012 to assess compliance with the terms and conditions of the Portuguese Adjustment Programme. This report provides an assessment of compliance and summarises the findings of the mission. Raising competitiveness, employment and the growth potential of the economy remains of crucial importance for the success of the Programme. Overall, Programme implementation remains solid, but important risks and challenges are lying ahead. The revised fiscal adjustment path with new deficit targets of 5% of GDP in 2012, 4.5% of GDP in 2013 and 2.5% of GPD in 2014, coupled with additional fiscal measures planned for 2013-2014 should keep fiscal consolidation on track. But risks and challenges derive from several areas. The macro-economic outlook may be affected by the continued tensions in the euro area. Fiscal adjustment has moved more strongly towards the revenue side in the short run. In a forward-looking perspective, the composition of consolidation measures should be rebalanced towards the expenditure side which is more conducive to medium-term growth. Finally, consensus-building is paramount for a successful implementation of the Programme. The Programme's financing envelope remains sufficient. Approval of the conclusions of this review will allow the disbursement of EUR 4.3 billion (EUR 2.8 billion by the EU and EUR 1.5 billion by the IMF) in October 2012, bringing the total amount disbursed to Portugal to EUR 61.4 billion of the overall Programme envelope amounting to EUR 78 billion.
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  • 7.
    book
    The balance of payments programme for Romania : second review - Spring 2012. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    This report by European Commission services assesses compliance, under the Second Review, with the terms and conditions of the 2011-2013 Balance of Payments Programme. The 2011-2013 Balance of Payments (BoP) assistance is a follow up precautionary programme to the 2009-2011 BoP programme. It was requested by the Romanian authorities in February 2011 to support the re-launch of the economic growth with a focus on structural reforms. This report assesses compliance with the terms and conditions of the BoP Programme and summarises the findings of the joint EC/IMF mission. Updated programme documents are appended to it. The joint EC/IMF mission concluded that the programme remains on track. After two years of deep recession, growth resumed in 2011 also helped by a bumper harvest. Following a cumulative contraction of more than 8% in 2009-10, GDP increased by 2.5% in 2011. The general government deficit was 4.1% of GDP, below the cash deficit ceiling of 4.4% of GDP set for 2011. The deficit would also have respected the 5% of GDP accrual (ESA) deficit ceiling set for 2011, had it not been for court rulings that forced the government to take additional (one-off) spending commitments that brought the ESA deficit up to 5.2% of GDP. Budget execution for the first four months shows that Romania remains on track to reach a deficit of below 3% of GDP in ESA terms in 2012. Progress in the energy area, which had been slow, gathered momentum. Following the agreement on electricity price liberalisation reached during the previous mission, agreement was reached on a roadmap for gas price deregulation during this review. In the transport area, the authorities agreed on a multiannual contract with the railways infrastructure company, but this contract does not yet fully satisfy EU requirements. The remaining actions required to comply with programme conditionality in this area were clarified to the authorities. The new government committed to continue the reform of the healthcare system. With absorption of EU funds having reached EUR 3.3 bn, the end-2011 programme target of EUR 2.1 bn was met, but significant efforts will still be needed to reach the programme's end-2012 cumulative absorption target of EUR 8 bn.
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  • 8.
    book
    The financial sector adjustment programme for Spain. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    A joint mission, including EC, ECB, EBA, EFSF, and IMF visited Madrid from 27 June to 4 July 2012 following a request by the Spanish government for external financial assistance under the terms of the Financial Assistance for the Recapitalisation of Financial Institutions by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). On 4 July the mission concluded a staff level agreement for a financing package of up to EUR 100 billion for recapitalisation and restructuring of the Spanish financial sector. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 23 July. This report by European Commission staff provides an overview of the challenges faced by Spain and its financial sector, discussions with the authorities, and the objectives and design of the financial sector adjustment programme.
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  • 9.
    book
    Economic adjustment programme for Ireland : summer 2012 review. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    Report on programme review of the EU-IMF financial assistance for Ireland; a description of changes introduced to future programme conditionality; and the fiscal and economic outlook for Ireland. A joint EC/IMF/ECB mission visited Dublin between 17-26 April 2012 to conduct the sixth review mission under the Economic Adjustment Programme. The mission found that programme implementation remains strong, tough important risks and challenges remain, mainly due to still fragile investor sentiment towards Ireland and continued uncertainties in the outlook for growth and debt sustainability in Euro area member states. This report by European Commission services provides a summary of the main findings of the mission, including an assessment of compliance with the programme conditionality, and an overview of challenges faced by Ireland in the period ahead. This document contains in annex the updated programme documents. The overall positive assessment of compliance paves the way for the release of EUR 1 billion from the EFSM/EFSF, EUR 1.4 billion from the IMF and around EUR 0.5 billion from a bilateral loan from the UK.
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  • 10.
    book
    Improving tax governance in EU Member States : criteria for successful policies. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    This paper discusses how the efficiency of the tax administration can be improved and analyses specific ways to combat tax evasion and the shadow economy. It presents operational criteria to assess the adequacy of policy responses in the area of tax governance. An efficient and effective tax collection is a prerequisite for financing European welfare states. While aiming at collecting the full amount of taxes payable in accordance with the law, tax administrations also have to pay due attention to their collection costs and the administrative costs businesses and individuals face when paying taxes. Achieving a high share of voluntary compliance among taxpayers allows the tax administration to concentrate its efforts on those taxpayers who try to evade taxes. The paper analyses what characterises efficient tax administrations. They implement an overall compliance strategy and focus audit efforts on the largest revenue risks. They distinguish between providing service to those who voluntarily comply and control for those who don't. They use third-party information comprehensively and provide pre-filled tax returns to taxpayers to both make it easy to pay taxes and at the same time limit the taxpayers' ability to evade. The paper shows that it has proven important to underpin tax morale and to benefit from tracking possibilities of electronic means of payments to successfully fight the shadow economy.
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  • 11.
    book
    Fiscal Frameworks in the European Union : May 2012 update on priority countries (Addendum to Occasional Papers No.91: Fiscal frameworks across Member States: Commission services country fiches from the 2011 EPC peer review). European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
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  • 12.
    book
    Measuring the macroeconomic resilience of industrial sectors in the EU and assessing the role of product market regulations. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    This study examines the characteristics of sectoral cycles in EU countries and investigates the reasons which might explain differences in the adjustment capacity of sectors and countries to economic shocks; broadly defined as unforeseen changes to business conditions. In particular, it evaluates the role played by institutional factors and product market reforms in accelerating this adjustment capacity. Product market reforms are institutional changes of microeconomic (sectoral) nature implemented to improve the functioning of product markets. In Europe such reforms include a wide range of measures spanning from the creation of the Single Market, to liberalization and regulatory reforms in network industries, to reforms in the business environment, competition policy, and state aid.
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  • 13.
    book
    The economic adjustment programme for Portugal : fourth review, spring 2012. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    A joint EC/ECB/IMF mission met with the Portuguese authorities in Lisbon between 22 May and 4 June to assess compliance with the terms and conditions of the Fourth Review of the Portuguese Economic Adjustment Programme. The objectives of the Programme are to restore sound public finances, improve competitiveness and put Portugal’s economy back on the path of sustainable growth and job creation. This report provides an assessment of compliance and summarises the findings of the mission.
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  • 14.
    book
    Macroeconomic imbalances : United Kingdom. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), prepared in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No. 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device, helping to identify Member States that warrant further in-depth analysis to determine whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific “in-depth reviews” should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned, which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission will establish whether it considers that an imbalance exists and what type of policy follow-up it will recommend to the Council. The AMR suggested the need to look more closely at whether the UK is suffering from macroeconomic imbalances of an internal and external nature. The AMR noted that, on the internal side, the high level of private debt is a concern, also in a context of a weak public finance situation with high and increasing government debt. The high value of private debt largely reflects household mortgages in a context of high accumulated increases in house prices. While both the levels of real household debt and real house prices have reduced, they still remain comparatively high which suggests that their unwinding has further to go where the speed of adjustment is an important aspect. On the external side, the UK lost export market share over the last decade, although some stabilisation can be noted in recent years. This loss of market shares took place despite a substantial depreciation of sterling between 2007 and 2009. At the same time and since 1997, the UK recorded small but significant current account deficits albeit below the indicative threshold. The purpose of the present in-depth review is to investigate the findings presented in the AMR and to ascertain whether macroeconomic imbalances of either an internal or external nature effectively exist in the UK and, if so, whether they are excessive in the meaning of Regulation no. 1176/2011. Sections 2 and 3 of this review analyse the existence and nature of potential macroeconomic imbalances in the UK. Section 2 takes a broad perspective of the UK economy, while section 3 focuses on two potential areas of concern for the UK: household debt and the housing market on the one hand, and external competitiveness on the other hand. Section 4 presents possible policy considerations.
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  • 15.
    book
    Macroeconomic imbalances : Slovenia. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), prepared in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device, helping to identify Member States that warrant further in-depth analysis to determine whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific “in-depth reviews” should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission will establish whether it considers that an imbalance exists and what type of policy follow-up it will recommend to the Council. For Slovenia, the AMR noted that two indicators in the scoreboard exceeded their thresholds in 2010 and suggested the need to assess the development and drivers of potential imbalances. The AMR explained that in the years before the crisis, Slovenia enjoyed strong growth and domestic demand conditions, coupled with some losses in price competitiveness and a gradual widening of the current account deficit. It identified signs that overheating occurred, particularly as regards private sector credit growth, construction value added and property prices. The Slovenian economy was hit hard by the global crisis and the AMR noted that this has brought some, perhaps temporary, adjustment in the external balance but this is still at an early stage. Against this background, Section 2 examines the external and internal dimensions of imbalances including developments in competitiveness, private sector indebtedness and in asset markets. This is followed by a closer look at the implications of indebtedness of non-financial corporations for the banking sector in Section 3. Section 4 presents possible policy considerations.
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  • 16.
    book
    Macroeconomic imbalances : Sweden. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), prepared in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No. 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device, helping to identify Member States that warrant further in-depth analysis to determine whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific “in-depth reviews” should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned, which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission will establish whether it considers that an imbalance exists and what type of policy follow-up it will recommend to the Council. For Sweden, the AMR suggested the need to look more closely at whether Sweden is exhibiting macroeconomic imbalances of an internal and external nature. On the external side, the AMR highlighted a long series of strong current account surpluses which, however, coincided with a loss in market shares over the last years. On the internal side, the high level of private debt was identified as a matter of concern, mainly due to increasing household indebtedness in the context of strong increases of house prices over the last decade. Against this background, Section 2 of this review looks more in detail into these developments covering both the external and internal dimensions, followed by specific focus sections on the housing market and private sector debt developments in Section 3. Section 4 summarises the findings and presents possible policy considerations.
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  • 17.
    book
    Macroeconomic imbalances : Italy. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR), prepared in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation (EU) no. 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device, helping to identify Member States that warrant further in-depth analysis to determine whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific “in-depth reviews” should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned, which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission will establish whether it considers that an imbalance exists and what type of policy follow-up it will recommend to the Council. In the AMR, Italy displays scoreboard values above the indicative thresholds in the areas of public debt and the development in export market shares. The country has experienced significant deterioration in competitiveness since the end-1990s: this is most evident in the persistent losses of market shares, while it is only partly reflected in Italy's current account balance. While private sector indebtedness is relatively contained in Italy, the level of public debt is a concern. Against this background, section 2 of this review looks more in detail into these developments covering both the external and internal dimensions. Section 3 focuses on Italy's external competitiveness. Section 4 presents possible policy considerations.
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  • 18.
    book
    Macroeconomic imbalances : Spain. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR) in accordance with the Regulation (EU) No. 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device to identify Member States that warrant further in depth analysis into whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific “in-depth reviews” should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned, which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission concludes whether it considers that an imbalance exists or not, and if so whether it is excessive or not, and what type of follow-up it will recommend to the Council to address to the Member State. This in-depth review concludes that Spain is experiencing very serious macroeconomic imbalances, which are not excessive but need to be urgently addressed. In particular, macroeconomic developments, notably related to the significant level of private sector debt, the large negative external position and the financial sector, which were influenced by housing market developments, require close monitoring and urgent economic policy attention in order to avert any adverse effects on the functioning of the economy and of economic and monetary union.
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  • 19.
    book
    Macroeconomic imbalances : Hungary. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR) in accordance with the Regulation (EU) No. 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device to identify Member States that warrant further in depth analysis into whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific “in-depth reviews” should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned, which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission concludes whether it considers that an imbalance exists or not, and if so whether it is excessive or not, and what type of follow-up it will recommend to the Council to address to the Member State. This in-depth review concludes that Hungary is experiencing serious macroeconomic imbalances, which are not excessive but need to be addressed. In particular, certain macroeconomic developments such as the highly negative size of the net international investment position and public debt deserve very close attention so as to reduce the important risks of adverse effects on the functioning of the economy.
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  • 20.
    book
    Macroeconomic imbalances : France. European Commission. Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
    Publication
    Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2012.
    Summary
    On 14 February 2012, the European Commission presented its first Alert Mechanism Report (AMR) in accordance with the Regulation (EU) No. 1176/2011 on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances. The AMR serves as an initial screening device to identify Member States that warrant further in depth analysis into whether imbalances exist or risk emerging. According to Article 5 of Regulation No. 1176/2011, these country-specific “in-depth reviews” should examine the nature, origin and severity of macroeconomic developments in the Member State concerned, which constitute, or could lead to, imbalances. On the basis of this analysis, the Commission concludes whether it considers that an imbalance exists or not, and if so whether it is excessive or not, and what type of follow-up it will recommend to the Council to address to the Member State. This in-depth review concludes that France is experiencing serious macroeconomic imbalances, which are not excessive but need to be addressed. In particular, certain macroeconomic developments in the areas of export performance and competitiveness deserve attention so as to reduce the risk of adverse effects on the functioning of the economy.
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