Speaking on 4 April at a conference entitled "The coordination of economic policies at EU level, a renewed role for the European Semester'', ECR Group president Rob Jonkman outlined the European Committee of the Regions' views on the need to reform the European Semester, which provides a framework for the coordination of economic policies across the EU. The conference, held in Bucharest, was organised by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The ECR President is a long-standing CoR spokesperson on the European Semester. Local and regional politicians from 28 Member States adopted his two opinions – on improving the governance of the European Semester and on aligning structural reforms with long-term investments – in May 2017 and in April 2019.

"In the highly integrated economic environment of the EU, no country can successfully set its economic policy in complete isolation from other Member States", said Mr Jonkman (Alderman in Opsterland in the Netherlands).

Since 2011 the European Semester is the main coordination tool for Member States to align their budgetary and economic policies to the policy priorities agreed at EU level. But the tool is far from perfect. In the words of Mr Jonkman, "although revamped not long time ago, the Semester still faces a lack of ownership on the ground, which undermines its effectiveness".

"Almost half of the EU's country-specific recommendations could not be fully implemented without the active ​role of local and regional authorities, who are also responsible for over 50 per cent of public investment. Involving them in the European Semester process as full partners will not only increase their commitment to implement but will also help to set the right goals taking local and regional opportunities, challenges and disparities into account", said the ECR President.

To help implement this solution, Alderman Jonkman proposed creating a code of conduct for involvement of local and regional level of government in the European Semester, similar to that used for Cohesion Policy. "In the Netherlands the code of conduct ensures that regions and municipalities are involved both in the European Semester and Cohesion Policy processes. Replicating this in other countries would help to align them with good practices existing elsewhere".

Among the main speakers at the conference were also Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the Euro, Social Dialogue, Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, as well as Viorel Stefan, Deputy Prime Minister of Romania.