This Pact focuses primarily on areas that fall under national competence and are key for increasing competitiveness and avoiding harmful imbalances. Competitiveness is essential to help the EU grow faster and more sustainably in the medium and long term, to produce higher levels of income for citizens, and to preserve our social models. Non-euro area Member States are invited to participate on a voluntary basis.

This renewed effort for stronger economic policy coordination for competitiveness and convergence rests on four guiding rules:

a. It will be in line with and strengthen the existing economic governance in the EU, while providing added value. It will be consistent with and build on existing instruments (EU 2020, European Semester, Integrated Guidelines, Stability and Growth Pact and new macroeconomic surveillance framework). It will involve a special effort going beyond what already exists and include concrete commitments and actions that are more ambitious than those already agreed, and accompanied by a timetable for implementation. These new commitments will thereafter be included in the National Reform and Stability Programmes and be subject to the regular surveillance framework, with a strong central role for the Commission in the monitoring of the implementation of the commitments, and the involvement of all the relevant formations of the Council and the Eurogroup. The European Parliament will play its full role in line with its competences. Social partners will be fully involved at the EU level through the Tripartite Social Summit.

b. It will be focused, action-orientated and cover priority policy areas that are essential for fostering competitiveness and convergence. It will concentrate on actions where the competence lies with the Member States. In the chosen policy areas, common objectives will be agreed upon at the Heads of State or Government level. Participating Member States will pursue these objectives with their own policy-mix, taking into account their specific challenges.

c. Each year, concrete national commitments will be undertaken by each Head of State or Government. In doing so, Member States will take into account best practices and benchmark against the best performers, within Europe and vis-à-vis other strategic partners. The implementation of commitments and progress towards the common policy objectives will be monitored politically by the Heads of State or Government of the Euro area and participating countries on a yearly basis, on the basis of a report by the Commission. In addition, Member States commit to consult their partners on each major economic reform having potential spill-over effects before its adoption.

d. Euro area Member States are fully committed to the completion of the Single Market which is key to enhancing the competitiveness in the EU and the Euro area. This process will be fully in line with the treaty. The Pact will fully respect the integrity of the Single Market.