The European Semester

The European Commission has for the first time placed Greece among the countries where it sees risks in achieving the goal of social convergence. Next year it will prepare a detailed report for each of the 10 countries in this category, which also includes Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Luxembourg.

The European Commission has placed Greece in the same group of countries as Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, but that is not good news. It is the group of nine eurozone countries in which the Commission's "Alert Mechanism" identified macroeconomic imbalances. In-depth assessments will follow on whether these imbalances have worsened or are being corrected.

The European Commission has given a positive evaluation of Greece's 2025 budget plan and medium-term fiscal strategy, according to the autumn package of the European Semester released on Tuesday.

Greece is one of the 20 countries that received approval of the Medium Term Plan and one of the 8 countries whose Draft Budgetary Plans were assessed positively both in terms of the recommendations of the European Semester and in the context of respecting the expenditure ceilings.

The European Commission has given a positive evaluation of Greece's 2025 budget plan and medium-term fiscal strategy, according to the autumn package of the European Semester released on Tuesday.

The European Commission recommended on Wednesday that Greece curb the rise of net expenditures in its individual member country recommendations in socioeconomic policy in 2025, in the context of the European Semester.

New EU fiscal rules are set to bring about greater relief for Greece but will also demand increased efforts, according to Hungarian economist Zsolt Darvas. 

September 20 will most likely be the day on which the member-states of the European Union will submit their first four-year budgetary-structural plans, based on the rules of the new Stability Pact.

The European Union's new fiscal rules should ensure both fiscal discipline and economic growth, while considering countries with high defense spending, noted Greek National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis on Thursday.

Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis is scheduled to travel to Brussels on Wednesday to participate in the Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings.