- Latest update of text: September 2012
The European Union (EU) is active in a wide range of policy areas, but the economic domain has traditionally played a prominent role. Starting from the rather narrow focus of introducing common policies for coal and steel, atomic energy and agriculture as well as the creation of a customs union over 50 years ago, European economic policies progressively extended their scope to a multitude of domains.
Since 1993, the European single market has enhanced the possibilities for people, goods, services and money to move around the EU as freely as within a single country. The start of economic and monetary union (EMU) in 1999 gave economic and market integration further stimulus. The euro has become a symbol for Europe, and the number of countries that have adopted the single currency increased from an original 11 to 17 countries by 2011.
Fostering economic and social progress has been a key objective of European policies. In March 2010, the European Commission launched the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Its objective is to overcome the effects of the 2008 financial and economic crisis and prepare the EU’s economy for the next decade; integrated economic and employment guidelines have been revised within the context of this new strategy.
Following actions to stabilise the financial system and the economy, the recent financial and economic crisis also prompted a reinforced economic agenda with closer EU surveillance, as well as agreement over a range of policy priorities and a set of targets as part of the Europe 2020 strategy. Tighter EU surveillance of economic and fiscal policies has been introduced as part of the stability and growth pact, while new tools to tackle macroeconomic imbalances and a new working method – the European semester – have also been introduced in order to promote discussions concerning economic and budgetary priorities at the same time every year. As part of this method, the European Commission publishes a ‘Roadmap for stability, growth and jobs’ at the end of May each year, detailing country-specific recommendations relating to budgetary and economic reforms for the next twelve months.
In October 2011, the Council adopted an EU economic governance package of six new legislative acts which entered into force in mid-December 2011. This puts much more emphasis on debt reduction, sets minimum requirements for national budgetary frameworks and installs a new procedure to prevent and correct macroeconomic imbalances including a scoreboard of economic and financial indicators that the European Commission will monitor.
In a speech to the European Parliament in September 2012, the President of the European Commission outlined plans for a range of new initiatives, many of which were in the economic domain. These included a blueprint for deeper economic and monetary union through fiscal and banking unions, as well as plans for a single market act II.
In order to support these policy developments a broad range of short-term and structural indicators are required. Eurostat data from a variety of different sources, such as national accounts, government finance, exchange rates and interest rates, consumer prices, and the balance of payments may be used to support analysis of the economic situation. These indicators are also used in the design, implementation and monitoring of the EU’s policies.
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- ESA 95 supply use and input-output tables
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- National accounts (including GDP)
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