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1. The Commission may request a Member State to review and propose amendments of relevant programmes, where this is necessary to support the implementation of relevant Council Recommendations. Such a request may be made for the following purposes:

(a) to support the implementation of a relevant country-specific recommendation adopted in accordance with Article 121(2) TFEU and of a relevant Council recommendation adopted in accordance with Article 148(4) TFEU, addressed to the Member State concerned;

(b) to support the implementation of relevant Council Recommendations addressed to the Member State concerned and adopted in accordance with Article 7(2) or 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council () provided that these amendments are deemed necessary to help correct the macroeconomic imbalances.

2. A request by the Commission to a Member State in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be justified, with reference to the need to support the implementation of the relevant recommendations, and shall indicate the programmes or priorities which it considers are concerned and the nature of the amendments expected. Such a request shall not be made before 2023 or after 2026, nor in relation to the same programmes in two consecutive years.

3. The Member State shall submit its response to the request referred to in paragraph 1 within 2 months of its receipt, setting out the amendments it considers necessary in the relevant programmes, the reasons for such amendments, identifying the programmes concerned and outlining the nature of the amendments proposed and their expected effects on the implementation of recommendations and on the implementation of the Funds. If necessary, the Commission shall make observations within 1 month of the receipt of that response.

4. The Member State shall submit a proposal to amend the relevant programmes within 2 months of the date of submission of the response referred to in paragraph 3.

5. Where the Commission has not submitted observations or where it is satisfied that any observations submitted have been duly taken into account, it shall adopt a decision approving the amendments of the relevant programmes no later than 4 months after its submission by the Member State.

6. Where the Member State fails to take effective action in response to a request made in accordance with paragraph 1, within the deadlines set out in paragraphs 3 and 4, the Commission may, within 3 months, following its observations under paragraph 3 or following the submission of the proposal of the Member State under paragraph 4, make a proposal to the Council to suspend part or all of the payments for the programmes or priorities concerned. In its proposal, the Commission shall set out the grounds for concluding that the Member State has failed to take effective action. In making its proposal, the Commission shall take account of all relevant information, and shall give due consideration to any elements arising from and opinions expressed through the structured dialogue under paragraph 14.

The Council shall decide on that proposal by means of an implementing act. That implementing act shall only apply with respect to payment applications submitted after the date of the adoption of that implementing act.

7. The Commission shall make a proposal to the Council to suspend all or part of the commitments or payments for one or more of the programmes of a Member State where the Council decides in accordance with Article 126(8) or (11) TFEU that a Member State has not taken effective action to correct its excessive deficit, unless it has determined the existence of a severe economic downturn in the euro area or in the Union as a whole within the meaning of Articles 3(5) and 5(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 ().

8. The Commission may make a proposal to the Council to suspend all or part of the commitments or payments for one or more of the programmes of a Member State in the following cases:

(a) where the Council adopts two successive recommendations in the same excessive imbalance procedure in accordance with Article 8(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 on the grounds that a Member State has submitted an insufficient corrective action plan;

(b) where the Council adopts two successive decisions in the same excessive imbalance procedure in accordance with Article 10(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 establishing non-compliance by a Member State on the grounds that it has not taken the recommended corrective action;

(c) where the Commission concludes that a Member State has not taken measures as referred to in Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 () and as a consequence decides not to authorise the disbursement of the financial assistance granted to that Member State;

(d) where the Council decides that a Member State does not comply with the macroeconomic adjustment programme referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (), or with the measures requested by a Council decision adopted in accordance with Article 136(1) TFEU.

9. Priority shall be given to the suspension of commitments. Payments shall be suspended only when immediate action is sought and in the case of significant non-compliance. The suspension of payments shall apply to payment applications submitted for the programmes concerned after the date of the decision to suspend.

10. A proposal by the Commission for a decision to suspend commitments shall be deemed adopted by the Council unless the Council decides, by means of an implementing act, to reject such a proposal by qualified majority within 1 month of the submission of the Commission proposal. The suspension of commitments shall apply to the commitments from the Funds for the Member State concerned from 1 January of the year following the adoption of the decision to suspend. The Council shall adopt a decision, by means of an implementing act, on a proposal by the Commission referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8 in relation to the suspension of payments.

11. The scope and level of the suspension of commitments or payments to be imposed shall be proportionate, respect the equality of treatment between Member States and take into account the economic and social circumstances of the Member State concerned, in particular the level of unemployment, the level of poverty or social exclusion in the Member State concerned compared to the Union average and the impact of the suspension on the economy of the Member State concerned. The impact of suspensions on programmes of critical importance to address adverse economic or social conditions shall be a specific factor to be taken into account.

12. The suspension of commitments shall be subject to a maximum of 25 % of the commitments relating to the next calendar year for the Funds or 0,25 % of nominal GDP, whichever is lower, in any of the following cases:

(a) in the first case of non-compliance with an excessive deficit procedure as referred to in paragraph 7;

(b) in the first case of non-compliance relating to a corrective action plan under an excessive imbalance procedure as referred to in point (a) of paragraph 8;

(c) in the case of non-compliance with the recommended corrective action pursuant to an excessive imbalance procedure as referred to in point (b) of paragraph 8;

(d) in the first case of non-compliance as referred to in points (c) and (d) of paragraph 8. In the case of persistent non-compliance, the suspension of commitments may exceed the maximum percentages set out in the first subparagraph.

13. The Council shall lift the suspension of commitments on a proposal from the Commission in the following cases:

(a) where the excessive deficit procedure is held in abeyance in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1467/97or the Council has decided in accordance with Article 126(12) TFEU to abrogate the decision on the existence of an excessive deficit;

(b) where the Council has endorsed the corrective action plan submitted by the Member State concerned in accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1176/2011 or the excessive imbalance procedure is placed in a position of abeyance in accordance with Article 10(5) of that Regulation or the Council has closed the excessive imbalance procedure in accordance with Article 11 of that Regulation;

(c) where the Commission has concluded that the Member State concerned has taken appropriate measures as referred to in Regulation (EC) No 332/2002;

(d) where the Commission has concluded that the Member State concerned has taken appropriate measures to implement the macroeconomic adjustment programme referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 or the measures requested by a Council decision adopted in accordance with Article 136(1) TFEU.

After the Council has lifted the suspension of commitments, the Commission shall re-budget the suspended commitments in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093. Suspended commitments may not be re-budgeted beyond the year 2027. The decommitment time limit for the re-budgeted amount in accordance with Article 105 shall start from the year in which the suspended commitment has been re-budgeted. A decision concerning the lifting of the suspension of payments shall be taken by the Council on a proposal by the Commission where the applicable conditions set out in in the first subparagraph are fulfilled. A proposal by the Commission for a decision to lift the suspension of commitments shall be deemed adopted by the Council unless the Council decides, by means of an implementing act, to reject such a proposal by qualified majority within 1 month of the submission of the Commission proposal.