European semester: an essential tool of economic governance.

In adopting today, by a large majority (430 in favour, 90 against, 9 abstentions), the Resolution on the European Semester at its plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament underlined the need to implement structural reforms and to ensure the sustainability of national budgets.

"The European Semester in an essential tool of economic governance. Created in the context of the sovereign debt crisis, it aims to make the coordination of Eurozone members' economic policies more concrete, notably as regards annual budgets and national reform programmes", the EP Rapporteur, Jean-Paul Gauzès MEP said.

"The proposed measures are intended to limit the effects of contagion from one Member State to another, and to guarantee the sustainability of public finances, improve competitiveness, stimulate growth and develop employment", he added.

"The European Commission must check that Member States really apply the recommendations", Mr Gauzès continued.

"We also call for a greater involvement of national parliaments in the European Semester procedure, and ask for an increase in the European Parliament's role in the future, notably at the early stage", Jean-Paul Gauzès concluded.