Gli indirizzi di massima per il coordinamento delle politiche economiche ex art. 121 TFUE nel quadro del Semestre europeo

The essay aims to analyse the role of broad economic policy guidelines (BEPGs) under Article 121 TFEU within the European Semester. After describing the evolution of the instruments for coordinating economic policies in the EU, from the Seventies until today, the analysis focuses on three major issues concerning economic policy coordination: legitimacy, democracy, and effectiveness. The main finding is that the well-known shortcomings in democratic control over the economic cycles at the European and national level are accompanied by poor implementation of the economic policy recommendations by the Member States. The examination of the Italian case confirms this picture. Despite these issues, economic policy recommendations (notably country-specific recommendations - CSRs) are gaining ever greater importance, especially within the framework of Next Generation EU plan. The conclusion is that, while the effectiveness of policy recommendations may be improved by linking the disbursement of EU funds to Member States compliance with CSRs, as proposed for the so-called ‘Recovery Plan’, stronger democratic accountability implies an enhancement of the involvement of national parliaments in the European Semester.