National Ownership of Macro-Economic Reforms in the European Semester

The idea that recipients of a given policy ought to be involved in its formulation, management, or implementation is nothing new. It has been pervasive in the global governance where international organisations has sought to initiate policies from the outside the national arenas. In the realm of the EU socio-economic governance, the notion has also become central since the European Commission has introduced important changes in the operation of the European Semester, a complex, and hybrid framework (based on fuzzy lines between hard and soft law) and aiming at controlling deficits and steering reforms. This paper explores how ownership by four types of actors (national governments, administrations, parliaments and social partners) manifests itself in the European Semester. In doing so, we distinguish three types of ownership: institutional (control over the outputs generated), political (acceptance of the nature of the reforms advocated) and cognitive (knowledge and awareness of the European Semester). Using network analysis, semi-structured interviews, and a small-scale survey, we do detect forms of ownership among national actors. It is strongest among national governments and administrations, which are able to shape the outputs of the European Semester (institutional ownership) with little political disagreement (political ownership). This contrasts with national parliaments, which display low levels of all types of ownership. While cognitive ownership is fairly strong both among employers and unions, the former seem more able to provide effective input into the process