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The Influence of the European Semester: Case Study Analysis and Lessons for its Post‐Pandemic Transformation

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  • David Bokhorst

Abstract

This paper examines whether and how the European Semester has influenced structural reforms in member states. It does so by analysing the interaction between the Commission and the national bureaucratic and political levels. The paper presents two process‐tracing exercises with a focus on those actors that directly worked with the CSRs to assess the political dynamics underpinning the CSR implementation process. First, it examines the more nuanced and indirect effects the Semester had on the liberalization of professions in Italy. Second, it shows how the debate on wage indexation in Belgium turned around over the years and how the Semester was an important factor in introducing reform. The analysis shows the influence of the Semester in terms of issue salience and agenda setting, but it also shows how the Commission can exert real pressure. This pressure may in turn affect the EU's perceived legitimacy, which holds lessons for the Semester's post‐pandemic transformation.

Suggested Citation

  • David Bokhorst, 2022. "The Influence of the European Semester: Case Study Analysis and Lessons for its Post‐Pandemic Transformation," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 101-117, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:60:y:2022:i:1:p:101-117
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13266
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Valerie J. D'Erman & Daniel F. Schulz & Amy Verdun & Dennis Zagermann, 2022. "The European Semester in the North and in the South: Domestic Politics and the Salience of EU‐Induced Wage Reform in Different Growth Models," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 21-39, January.
    2. Annette Bongardt & Francisco Torres, 2022. "The European Green Deal: More than an Exit Strategy to the Pandemic Crisis, a Building Block of a Sustainable European Economic Model," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 170-185, January.
    3. Reinout Arthur van der Veer, 2022. "Walking the Tightrope: Politicization and the Commission's Enforcement of the SGP," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 81-100, January.
    4. Nicole Baerg & Mark Hallerberg, 2022. "Council Checks of the Commission under the European Semester: Does Member State Power and Euroscepticism Still Matter?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 58-80, January.
    5. Bart Vanhercke & Amy Verdun, 2022. "The European Semester as Goldilocks: Macroeconomic Policy Coordination and the Recovery and Resilience Facility," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 204-223, January.
    6. Valerie D'Erman & Amy Verdun, 2022. "An Introduction: “Macroeconomic Policy Coordination and Domestic Politics: Policy Coordination in the EU from the European Semester to the Covid‐19 Crisis”," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 3-20, January.
    7. Robert Csehi & Daniel F. Schulz, 2022. "The EU's New Economic Governance Framework and Budgetary Decision‐Making in the Member States: Boon or Bane for Throughput Legitimacy?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 118-135, January.
    8. Golpe, Antonio A. & Sánchez-Fuentes, A. Jesus & Vides, José Carlos, 2023. "Fiscal sustainability, monetary policy and economic growth in the Euro Area: In search of the ultimate causal path," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1026-1045.

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