The European semester aims at prior policy guidance and preventive budgetary surveillance, in time when these really matter and allow discussing common policy before the budgets are agreed at the national level. The European Semester cycle will start in January with an “Annual Growth Survey” prepared by the Commission, reviewing economic challenges.
  Second, the task force discusses a system of “smart sanctions” against countries in breach of the debt and deficit limits, in order to strengthen the SGP in a preventive phase. The commission will tackle its proposals tomorrow. These plans aim at imposing more automatic sanctions in a gradual way.