site.bta European Commission to Monitor Bulgaria, Four Other EU Member States, for Excessive Macroeconomic Imbalances

European Commission to Monitor Bulgaria, Four Other EU Member States, for Excessive Macroeconomic Imbalances

Strasbourg/Sofia, March 9 (BTA) - All EU Member States that are found to have imbalances or excessive macroeconomic imbalances will be subject to specific monitoring adapted to the degree and nature of the imbalances, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for the Euro and Social Dialogue, said in Strasbourg on Tuesday, quoted by EC's website.

Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Italy and Portugal are found to be experiencing excessive imbalances. Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Slovenia are found to be experiencing imbalances.

The EC decided last November that 18 Member States merited in-depth reviews to assess whether they were experiencing macroeconomic imbalances, and if so, how serious these imbalances were.

The monitoring will enhance the surveillance of Member States' policy responses through an intensified dialogue with the national authorities, through missions and through progress reports.

In March and April, the EC will hold further bilateral meetings with the Member States. These meetings will provide an opportunity to discuss the country reports with the national authorities.

In April, Member States are expected to present their national reform programmes and their stability programmes (for euro area countries) or convergence programmes (for non-euro area countries).

Based on all these sources, the Commission will present in spring its proposals for a new set of country-specific recommendations, targeting the key challenges to be addressed. The recommendations will also include fiscal guidance and be based on the Commission Spring Forecast which will incorporate final 2015 budgetary data validated by Eurostat.