Greening the European Semester

The need for a swift and resilient economic recovery cannot be separated from the need to seriously tackle climate change and biodiversity loss – to name only two of the most pressing and systemic challenges – and the greening of the EU’s and national fiscal capacities play a key role here. The important EU budget and recovery instruments will have to be geared to addressing these needs, as part of a broader initiative required for developing green budgeting frameworks at all government levels.

To succeed with the COVID-19 recovery effort and the EU’s commitment to climate neutrality and the SDGs, it is necessary to explore and mobilise the synergies between the various governance regimes, national plans, and policy objectives. The COVID-19 and the climate crisis are radically challenging existing governance frameworks, fiscal realities and political priorities.

To serve its crucial purpose of becoming an effective implementing mechanism of the Green Deal, this project explores how the European Semester (governance framework to coordinate economic policies across the EU) can be adjusted.