The European Semester is an annual cycle of economic policy coordination in which the European Commission assesses the situation in member states and formulates specific recommendations for each of them – for example, to improve housing affordability, strengthen skills, make healthcare more efficient or speed up permitting procedures. These recommendations are not merely an academic text: they translate directly into the focus of programmes and the Recovery and Resilience Plan, because funding is meant to be concentrated where weaknesses have been identified. For companies and organisations planning further ahead, they are therefore the best publicly available indication of where support will shift in the coming years. They are published every year together with the country assessment report. Whoever reads them before a call appears gains several months' head start in preparing a proposal and partnerships.
See also: Partnership Agreement, Mid-term review, EU cohesion policy.
