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This article examines how EU institutional actors have sought to strengthen the input, output and throughput legitimacy of the European Semester since its first iteration. It shows that since 2010 onwards, the Semester has been rationalized several times, in different ways, either de iure (by the Two and Six Packs) or de facto, through interactions and interinstitutional agreements. The article is organized as follows: the first section introduces the European Semester putting forward its main features and the actors involved. Section two underlines some of the legitimacy problems engendered by this policy tool over time, while section three shows how the European Semester has been transformed to resolve its legitimacy gaps not only through legal change but also through more informal practices such as learning, negotiations and compromises between EU institutional actors
