European Economy. Convergence Report December 2006.

Abstract

Article 122(2) of the Treaty requires the Commission and the ECB to report to the Council, at least once every two years, or at the request of a Member State with a derogation, on the progress made in the fulfilment by the Member States of their obligations regarding the achievement of economic and monetary union. The latest Commission and ECB regular convergence reports, adopted in October 2004, covered the ten Member States that joined the EU in May 2004 and Sweden.1 At the request of the respective national authorities, Lithuania and Slovenia were assessed in convergence reports issued in May 2006.2 The present report coversthe other nine Member States with a derogation: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.3 A more detailed assessment of the state of convergence in these countries is provided in a technical annex to this report (SEC(2006) 1570).