EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 21.11.2018 SWD(2018) 465 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

Annual Monitoring Report on the implementation of Structural Reform Support Programme 2017

{COM(2018) 755 final}



Table of Contents Glossary 1.Introduction 2.Background information 2.1. Budget of the Programme 2.2. Objectives of the Programme 2.3. European Added Value 2.4. Implementation of the Programme and forms of support 2.5. Data collection 3.Implementation of the programme in year 2017 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Requests for support submitted by the Member States 3.3. Application of the assessment criteria 3.3.1. Step 1 – screening and analysis of the requests for support

3.3.2. Step 2 – prioritisation of the requests for support 3.4. Selection of requests 3.5. Cooperation and Support Plans concluded 3.6. Reform partners and special measures 3.7. Implementation of support measures 4.Progress in relation to programme's objectives 4.1. Progress in achieving the general objective 4.2. Progress in achieving the specific objectives 4.3. Expected results of the SRSP activities 4.4. Examples of finalised support measures 4.5. European Added Value 5.Conclusion ANNEX I ANNEX II Glossary Term or acronym Meaning or definition AMI Appel à manifestation d'intérêt CMU Capital Markets Union CSP Cooperation and Support Plan CSR Country-Specific Recommendations EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EFSI European Fund for Strategic Investments ESIF European Structural and Investment Funds EU European Union PPP Public Private Partnerships SRSP Structural Reform Support Programme SRSS Structural Reform Support Service TAIEX Technical Assistance and Information Exchange



1.Introduction Structural reforms are crucial to modernise our economies, encourage investment, generate jobs and raise living standards. The overall successful implementation of reforms requires efficient and effective public administrations as the latter influence the performance of all public policy domains, including reform efforts. For this reason, addressing the structural challenges of public administrations (e.g. in terms of competences, mobility, incentives, changes to work processes, etc.), especially the development of adequate institutional and administrative capacity, is crucial for well-functioning economies and for underpinning the success of structural reforms. The Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) was established in May 2017 for the period from 2017 to 2020, under the Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and the Council (the SRSP Regulation) . Its objective is to strengthen the capacity of Member States to prepare and implement growth-enhancing reforms, including through assistance for the efficient and effective use of Union funds. The support provided through the Programme is available to all EU Member States upon their request (Article 7 of the Regulation) and requires no co-financing. It is managed by the Structural Reform Support Service (SRSS) of the Commission. The Programme offers interested Member States support to carry out reforms, but ultimate decisions on the design, structure and implementation remains with the Member States. The Commission monitors the implementation of the support measures financed by the Programme. In accordance with Article 16 of the SRSP Regulation, for every year of the implementation of the Programme, the Commission provides the European Parliament and the Council with an annual monitoring report.



Article 16 of SRSP Regulation Monitoring and evaluation […] 2. The Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with an annual monitoring report on the implementation of the Programme. That report shall include information on: a)requests for support submitted by Member States, referred to in Article 7(1); b)analyses of the application of the criteria, referred to in Article 7(2), used to analyse the requests for support submitted by Member States; c)cooperation and support plans, referred to in Article 7(2); d)participation of reform partners, referred to in Article 9; e)special measures adopted, referred to in Article 13(6); and f)implementation of support measures

2.Background information 2.1.Budget of the Programme The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme over the period 2017-2020 was set at EUR 142.8 million (increased to EUR 222.8 million) . The budget available for 2017 was EUR 22.5 million. In addition to the SRSP budget, Article 11 of the SRSP Regulation and Article 59 of the Common Provisions Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 enable the Programme to be financed through additional voluntary contributions from Member States from resources provided for technical assistance at the initiative of the Member States under the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). In 2017, no Member States made voluntary transfers to the SRSP. The overall budget for 2017 thus remained EUR 22.5 million. 2.2.Objectives of the Programme In accordance with Article 4 of the SRSP Regulation, the general objective of the Programme is to contribute to institutional, administrative and growth-sustaining structural reforms in the Member States. The way to achieve this objective is to provide support to national authorities aimed at reforming and strengthening institutions, governance, public administration, and economic and social sectors in response to economic and social challenges. The overarching goal of the Programme is to enhance cohesion, competitiveness, productivity, sustainable growth, job creation, and investment, in particular in the context of economic governance processes, including through assistance for the efficient, effective and transparent use of the Union funds. The specific objectives of the Programme, in accordance with Article 5 of the SRSP Regulation, are to: a)support their initiatives to design their reforms according to their priorities; b)enhance their capacity to formulate, develop and implement reform policies and strategies and pursue an integrated approach; c)support their efforts to define and implement appropriate processes and methodologies; and d)assist them to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of human resources management. The support therefore covers all stages of reforms, from inception to implementation and to evaluation of results. Support can be provided for reforms which fall under the following main broad policy areas (as set out in Article 5 (2) of the SRSP Regulation): a)revenue administration and public financial management; b)governance and public administration; c)growth and business environment (including energy and climate action); d)labour market, education, health and social issues; and

e)financial sector and access to finance. 2.3.European Added Value In accordance with Article 3 of the SRSP Regulation, the Commission should ensure that actions and activities selected for funding are likely to produce results that show a clear European added value. The European added value is borne out in particular by: a)the development and implementation of solutions that address local, regional or national challenges that have an impact on cross-border or Union-wide challenges, and which may also contribute to social, economic and territorial cohesion; b)their complementarity and synergy with other Union programmes and policies at regional, national, Union and international level, as appropriate; c)their contribution to the consistent and coherent implementation of Union law and policies, as well as the promotion of European values, including solidarity; d)their contribution to the sharing of good practices, also with a view to increasing the visibility of the reform programmes, and to building a Union-wide platform and network of expertise; and e)the promotion of mutual trust between beneficiary Member States and the Commission and of cooperation among Member States. 2.4.Implementation of the Programme and forms of support The support provided under the SRSP is tailored to the country's needs. Experts accompany national authorities throughout different stages of the reform process (scoping, prioritising, designing, road mapping, implementing, evaluating). The support depends on the nature of the reform, the urgency of action, the resources available and the obligations deriving from the EU Financial Regulation. In concrete terms, the technical support can take the form of (Article 6 of the SRSP Regulation): ·long-term or short-term presence of experts and cooperation on the ground with the national authorities throughout the reform process or at certain stages; ·diagnostic analyses, recommendations on how to address the situation (adoption of a strategy, draft of a new law/act or modification of an existing one; adoption of (new) procedures and actions to enhance the implementation of reforms; improved internal working procedures, methodologies and processes, organisation; organisational change, change management, improve human resource management); and/or ·wider actions that increase administrative capacity – through seminars, training, working visits; development of methodologies, collection of data, establishment of benchmarks etc. In line with Article 13 of the SRSP Regulation, the measures of the Programme are implemented either directly by the Commission or, indirectly, by entities and persons other than Member States. The financial support for actions can take the form of grants, public procurement contracts, reimbursement of costs incurred by external experts, contribution trust funds set up by international organisations, and actions carried out in indirect management. Individual experts, who may be invited to contribute to selected activities of the Programme, may also provide support. To carry out the Programme, the Commission adopts, by way of an implementing act, an annual work programme, which serves as a financing decision and sets out measures to be implemented in a given year. A limited part of the annual work programme is envisaged for special measures in the event of unforeseen and duly justified grounds of urgency requiring an immediate response, including a serious disturbance in the economy or significant circumstances seriously affecting the economic or social conditions in a Member State, going beyond its control. The special measures shall end within six months and may be replaced by standard SRSP support measures (cf. Article 13 (6)).

2.5.Data collection All data on the implementation of the SRSP is stored within the Commission in an internal IT tool managed by the SRSS. The tool facilitates the monitoring and reporting on the implementation of support projects managed by the service. It has provided data for the present study. 3.Implementation of the programme in year 2017 3.1.Introduction Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and the Council of 17 May 2017 on the establishment of the Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 entered into force on 20 May 2017. 2017 was the first year of activities under the SRSP. As indicated before, the budget available for support measures in 2017 amounted to EUR 22.5 million. The period of implementation covered by the present report (of the support measures selected for funding in 2017) is from 31.08.2017 until 31.10.2018. On 28 August 2017, the Commission adopted the first annual work programme . The annual work programme set out priorities for the year, objectives, expected results and outlined actions to be implemented throughout 2017. The annual work programme for 2017 was transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council on 16 October 2017, in line with Article 13(5) of the SRSP Regulation. 3.2.Requests for support submitted by the Member States Given the late entry into force of the Programme in 2017, Member States were invited to submit their requests for support by 31 May 2017. In line with Article 7(1) of the SRSP Regulation, the requests for support submitted by the Member States provide information on the following elements: a)problem/need to be addressed with the requested support measures; b)the breadth of the problems identified (impact on other areas in the economy); c)and depth of the problems identified (severity); d)the urgency of the request for support; e)relevant socio-economic indicators to be taken into consideration when analysing the request, the indicative duration and estimated cost; f)expected results/use of the results of the support measures requested; g)information on the administrative capacity of the Member State to implement the results of the support measures and potential providers. In accordance with Article 7(3) of the SRSP Regulation, in their request for support, Member States identify the relevant circumstances under which they submit the requests: a)the implementation of reforms undertaken by Member States at their own initiative, in particular to achieve sustainable economic growth and job creation; b)the implementation of economic adjustment programmes (for Member States that receive Union financial assistance); and

c)the implementation of growth-sustaining reforms in the context of economic governance processes, in particular of European Semester country-specific recommendations, or of actions related to the implementation of Union law. The requests for support from interested Member States were submitted centrally, by designated coordinating authorities , i.e. authorities responsible for submitting requests on behalf of one Member State. Each coordinating authority prioritised requests for its Member State. The requests for support may concern the national authorities of the Member States, i.e. authorities at central, regional, local level, as well as independent authorities. Once the requests for support were selected, the Commission then concluded a cooperation and support plan with the coordinating authority of each beneficiary Member State (see section 3.5). Coordinating Authorities To ensure proper coordination and efficient communication between the Commission and the Member States, Member States designate a coordinating authority to act as the interlocutor of the SRSS for the overall implementation of the country's cooperation and support plan. The coordinating authorities are responsible at national level for coordinating and prioritising the requests for support submitted by the Member State, for coordinating the effective implementation of the measures envisaged and for coordinating the achievement of the objectives set out in their cooperation and support plan. The coordinating authority is also encouraged to initiate corrective actions if needed. For the 2017 round, 271 requests for support were submitted by 16 Member States for an estimated amount almost 4 times the available annual SRSP 2017 budget (EUR 83 million versus the annual budget of EUR 22.5 million). The following chart shows the number of requests submitted per Member State: The distribution of the requests submitted by the Member States across the main broad policy areas was as follows: The majority of the requests submitted by the Member States related to the EU economic governance process (implementation of reforms in response to challenges identified in the European Semester Country-Specific Recommendations or in relevant documents of the European Semester). More than one fourth was submitted to receive support for implementing Union priorities (Capital Markets Union, Energy Union, etc.), one fifth for implementing Member States' own reform priorities, and the remaining requests for implementing reform priorities identified in the economic adjustment programmes (Greece and Cyprus only) and EU law (such us in relation to infringements, or EU law implementation). The following chart shows the split according to relevant circumstances under which the requests for support were submitted:

3.3.Application of the assessment criteria In accordance with Article 7(2) of the SRSP Regulation, the assessment by the Commission of the requests for support submitted by Member States is based on 2 sets of elements: ·general principles: transparency, equal treatment and sound financial management; and ·criteria for the analysis of requests: urgency, breadth and depth of the problems, support needs in the policy areas concerned, analysis of socio-economic indicators and general administrative capacity of the Member State. The Commission analysed the requests for support submitted by the Member States in terms of their eligibility and compliance with these principles and criteria. A practical two-step approach was undertaken: a)screening for eligibility and analysis of requests; and b)prioritisation of requests for selection. As part of the assessment, the Commission undertook a broad internal consultation with all relevant Commission services in order to ensure complementarity and avoid that the same actions are funded by several Union funds/programmes (in particular by the European Structural and Investment Funds, ESIF). The process (including the broad consultation which fed into the assessment) resulted in the steps described below: Consultation Step 1 – screening and analysis of the requests for support Screening Prior to assessing the requests submitted under SRSP 2017, the Commission first established whether the requests met the legal requirements of the SRSP Regulation ("eligibility" check). Requests which included elements that were not "eligible actions" under the SRSP Regulation (cf. Article 6, e.g. purchase of equipment, provision of IT software, budget-support measures, measures consisting of paying for running costs, etc.) were excluded from further assessment. As a result of the first screening, 6% (17 requests) were excluded, and 94% (254 requests) were subject to further analysis (eligible requests). The following chart shows the percentage of requests subject to further analysis and requests excluded from further assessment (exclusion concerns non-eligible and withdrawn requests):

Analysis of the requests for support Following the exclusion of ineligible and withdrawn requests, the purpose of the analysis was to identify those requests that merit support under the SRSP. The analysis was based on the principles and criteria set out in Article 7(2) of the SRSP Regulation. A. General principles Throughout the selection process, the general principles mentioned in the SRSP Regulation (transparency, equal treatment and sound financial management) were applied. a) Transparency: The Commission maintained a dialogue with the Member States prior to the submission of their requests. This allowed to provide clarifications, refine Member States' requests and, after the selection, provide adequate feedback on the assessment process, in particular on requests which had not been selected. b) Equal treatment: The Commission applied the assessment criteria in an equal manner to all requesting Member States. There was no set pre-allocation of funding – the amount of funding allocated per Member State was determined based on the compliance of the request with the principles and assessment criteria and on the quality, focus and expected result of the support measures. In order to ensure equal treatment, a scoring system was put in place (see sections below). c) Sound financial management The principle of sound financial management requires that EU financial resources are used in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The Commission used the principle of sound financial management to prioritise requests to be selected based on quality, focus and expected results (of the requests submitted and considered eligible). B. Assessment criteria The criteria defined in Article 7(2) of the SRSP Regulation were applied in the following way: I.Urgency of the request The Commission assessed urgency of a request, as initially presented by the Member State. It also took into account the following elements: ·whether the urgency was linked to a crisis; ·whether the urgency was related to a deadline or a time-bound schedule derived from Union law, or from Union/Commission policy priorities (e.g. European Semester, Economic Adjustment programmes, CMU, Energy Union, Digital Single Market, etc.)

II.Breadth and depth of the problems identified The Commission assessed the severity (breadth) and extent (depth) of the problem, as presented by the Member State. It also took into account the following elements: ·the Commission's own knowledge and assessment of the prevailing situation in the Member State; ·Country reports, Country-Specific Recommendations, annual reports on the application of EU law and other relevant documents related to Union/Commission priorities (Energy Union, CMU, etc.), as well as to Member States' own reform priorities, as known. III.Support needs in respect of the policy areas concerned The Commission analysed the support needs, as described in the requests by the Member States. In addition, it took into account the following elements: ·at which stage of the reform process the support would be required (whether in the design phase or in the implementation phase) and how appropriate the solution proposed by the Member States would be to address it; ·whether the requested support measures were covered by already existing support measures/instruments (under national, or Union (e.g. ESIF) programmes). IV.Socio-economic indicators The Commission took account of relevant socio-economic indicators (as they had been brought forward by the Member States in their requests for support, or in other manner as appropriate) to back-up the assessment of the requests for support . V.General administrative capacity of the Member State The Commission assessed the capacity of the Member State (i.e. the capacity of the national authorities requesting support) to implement and absorb the support measures to be provided, and ensure adequate follow-up. The following elements were notably taken into account: ·existence of a structure in the requesting Member State that would coordinate and follow up on the support measures; ·staff that would be made available to follow up on the support measures; ·capacity (also based on past experience) to manage support measures/projects. RATING SYSTEM In order to ensure equal treatment, a rating system was put in place to assess how the eligible requests complied with the criteria indicated above. Analysis based on general principles and criteria: rating system Every request for support considered eligible received rating scores (A to C) which evaluated the fulfilment of the assessment criteria. Scores were attributed for each of the following criteria: (i) urgency of the request, (ii) breadth and depth of the problems identified, (iii) support needs in respect of the policy areas concerned, (iv) general administrative capacity of the Member State.

- requests with only high and medium scores and a majority of high scores fell into the category high scores (for most of the criteria) - requests with only high and medium scores and a majority of medium scores fell into the category medium scores (no low score) - requests with one low score fell into the category one major weakness - requests with more than one low score and medium scores for the rest fell into the category several major weaknesses 71% of the 254 requests analysed for SRSP 2017 fell into the category of "high scores", 8% into the category "medium scores", 10% into the category "one major weakness" and 11% fell into the category "several major weaknesses". The chart below shows the breakdown in percentages: Requests with "high scores" had in general the following characteristics: ·the problems/needs identified were sufficiently relevant/important and not covered by other Union funds/programmes; ·the solutions proposed were suitable for addressing the problems/needs; ·relevant socio-economic indicators underpinned the problems/needs at stake; ·the requesting Member State had sufficient administrative capacity to follow up the measure funded by the SRSP. Step 2 – prioritisation of the requests for support The results of the screening and analysis stage were used to select requests within the limits of the budget for 2017 (EUR 22.5 million available as opposed to EUR 83 million in value of requests received). The requests were prioritised based on the criterion of sound financial management (in particular taking into account their maturity, focus and expected results).

Priority was given to: ·measures that were mature enough to allow for quick delivery of support and rapid implementation of reforms on the ground; ·targeted measures addressing defined objectives (as opposed to requests that were more generic or preparatory); and ·measures with a strong expected results on the ground. 3.4.Selection of requests After the analysis and prioritisation of the 254 eligible requests for technical support, 159 requests from 16 Member States were selected for funding under the available annual SRSP 2017 budget of EUR 22.5 million. Per Member State, the distribution of the selected requests was as follows: The distribution of requests selected for funding under the SRSP 2017 across the main broad policy areas was as follows: The following chart shows the breakdown of the request selected split according to relevant circumstances under which the selected requests were submitted: 88% of the requests selected for funding under the SRSP 2017 were rated with "high scores". The chart below shows the rating of the selected requests in percentages:

3.5.Cooperation and Support Plans concluded Once the requests for support are selected, in line with Article 7 of the SRSP Regulation, the Commission concludes a Cooperation and Support Plan with each Member State benefiting from the Programme. Cooperation and Support Plans Member States and the Commission are working closely together to carry out actions financed under the SRSP. After a Member State submits its request for support, the coordinating authority of every requesting Member State and the Commission agree on the priorities, the objectives, an indicative timeline, the scope of the support measures and the estimated financial contribution for such support. This agreement is reflected in a cooperation and support plan (CSP). The CSPs are multiannual documents, signed and amended each year (if need be) by the Commission and the Member States requesting support from the SRSP. The implementation of the support measures requires full involvement and ownership by the Member State. The CSP is not a legally binding document, and it does not serve as a financing decision (the estimated global financial indication is only indicative). However, through this document, the Commission and the Member States express their commitment to engage in the implementation of the support measures . Subject to the consent by the Member States, the CSPs are transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council. In 2017, 16 cooperation and support plans were concluded between the Commission and the Member States. They were transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council on 16 October 2017 (in line with Article 8 of the SRSP Regulation): Country Indicative timeline of the delivery of the support measures Estimated global contribution Bulgaria 3rd quarter of 2017 – 4th quarter of 2019 EUR 1,035,000 Croatia 3rd quarter of 2017 – 4th quarter of 2018 EUR 1,860,000 Cyprus 3rd quarter of 2017 – 3rd quarter of 2019 EUR 820,000 Czech Republic 3rd quarter of 2017 – 4th quarter of 2019 EUR 1,147,000 Estonia 4th quarter of 2017 – 4th quarter of 2019 EUR 400,000 France 2nd quarter of 2018 EUR 50,000 Greece 3rd quarter of 2017 – 2020 EUR 2,930,000 Italy 3rd quarter of 2017 – 2nd quarter of 2019 EUR 1,203,800 Latvia 3rd quarter of 2017 – 3rd quarter of 2020 EUR 1,605,000 Lithuania 3rd quarter of 2017 – 1st quarter of 2019 EUR 1,155,000 Malta 3rd quarter of 2017 – 4th quarter of 2020 EUR 975,000 Poland 3rd quarter of 2017 – 4th quarter of 2019 EUR 1,356,200 Portugal 3rd quarter of 2017 – 3rd quarter of 2019 EUR 1,515,000 Romania 3rd quarter of 2017 – 1st quarter of 2019 EUR 3,215,000 Slovakia 4th quarter of 2017 – 3rd quarter of 2020 EUR 1,360,000 Slovenia 3rd quarter of 2017 – 4th quarter of 2018 EUR 1,535,000 3.6.Reform partners and special measures In line with Article 9 of the SRSP Regulation, in coordination with the Commission, the beneficiary Member State may enter into partnership with one or more other Member States which shall act as reform partners to support specific areas of reform. In 2017, none of the requesting Member States entered into partnership with a reform partner. In line with Article 13(6) of the SRSP Regulation, a limited part of the 2017 annual work programme is set aside for special measures in the event of unforeseen and duly justified grounds of urgency requiring immediate response for a maximum period of six months. In 2017, none of the requesting Member States requested support under special measures. 3.7.Implementation of support measures The 159 selected requests resulted in 145 projects (some selected requests were cancelled later on by the Member States, some were "merged" for implementation purposes into one project – the 145 support measures are listed in Annex I). The distribution of support measures/projects per Member State is shown in the table below: Bulgaria 9 Croatia 13 Cyprus 9 Czech Republic 10 Estonia 3 France 1 Greece 9 Italy 9 Latvia 10 Lithuania 14 Malta 13 Poland 11 Portugal 4 Romania 13 Slovakia 5 Slovenia 12 Grand Total 145 By 31 October 2018 (but still referring to the 2017 SRSP cycle), 6% of projects were under preparation (contract specification and selection of providers still ongoing), 82% of projects had begun to be implemented on the ground (the projects had started but the delivery on the ground had not yet been finalised) and 12% of projects had already been finalised (all the deliverables were delivered). The chart below shows the state of play of the implementation by 31 October 2018:

The distribution of projects across the main broad policy areas is illustrated in the chart below: The breakdown of specific actions (as launched in 2017) supported in each policy area in each Member State is described in the chart below: Governance and Public Administration Support measures in 8 Member States (Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovenia), in particular in the fields of overall public administration, including management of human resources, procurement, eGovernment, judicial system, fight against fraud, corruption and money laundering. Growth and Business Environment Support measures in 14 Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), in particular in the fields of investment climate, better regulation, licensing and permits, state-owned enterprises management, transport, trade, innovation, competition, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), management of natural resources and resource efficiency, and Energy Union, including climate change policy. Labour Market, Education, Health and Social Services Support measures in 12 Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia), in particular in the fields of health, education and training, labour markets, pension and social welfare systems. Revenue Administration and Public Financial Management Support measures in 10 Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Slovenia), in particular in relation to revenue administration, budget preparation and spending reviews, budget implementation and transition towards accrual accounting, and fiscal framework and statistics. Financial Sector and Access to Finance Support measures in 13 Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovenia), in particular in the fields of capital-market diagnostics and strategies, capital market development, insolvency, financial stability, and means of payments. The largest proportion of support measures selected in 2017 and being implemented concern the following sector/action (see the figure below and cf. Annex I for more details): ·Revenue administration (11%) ·Capital markets (9%) ·Health (9%) ·Energy, including climate change (6%) ·Education and training (5%) ·Better regulation (5%) In 2017, the total number of beneficiary authorities (i.e. national authorities who benefit from the support measures) was 91 across all beneficiary Member States. The type of beneficiary authority receiving the support measures is shown in the chart below:

The split of the type of the beneficiary authorities in each Member State is shown in the table below: Bulgaria 9 Ministry 3 Regulatory/independent authority 6 Croatia 13 Ministry 9 Public authority/body 3 Regulatory/independent authority 1 Cyprus 9 Ministry 7 Public authority/body 1 Regulatory/independent authority 1 Czech Republic 10 Central government 1 Ministry 8 Regulatory/independent authority 1 Estonia 3 Ministry 3 France 1 Central government 1 Greece 9 Ministry 8 Regulatory/independent authority 1 Italy 9 Central government 1 Ministry 7 Public authority/body 1 Latvia 10 Central government 1 Ministry 8 Regulatory/independent authority 1 Lithuania 14 Central government 2 Ministry 12 Malta 13 Central government 2 Ministry 3 Public authority/body 2 Regional/Local authority 5 Regulatory/independent authority 1 Poland 11 Ministry 8 Regulatory/independent authority 3 Portugal 4 Ministry 1 Public authority/body 3 Romania 13 Central government 1 Ministry 6 Regulatory/independent authority 6 Slovakia 5 Ministry 3 Public authority/body 1 Regulatory/independent authority 1 Slovenia 12 Ministry 8 Public authority/body 1 Regulatory/independent authority 3 Means of implementation In line with Article 13 of the SRSP Regulation, the support measures of the Programme can be implemented either directly by the Commission or indirectly by entities and persons other than Member States. According to Article 13 of the Regulation (EU) 2017/825, the financing of the support measures can take the form of grants, including grants to the Member States' national authorities, public procurement contracts, reimbursements of costs incurred by external experts, contribution to the trust funds set up by the international organisations, and actions carried out in indirect management. By 31 October 2018 (but still referring to the 2017 SRSP cycle), the SRSP 2017 budget of EUR 22.5 million for projects selected for funding under SRSP 2017 was being implemented using the following means of implementation: Grants By 31 October 2018 (but still referring to the 2017 SRSP cycle), a majority of grants that were being implemented were awarded to international organisations (52%) and public law bodies (26%): Public procurement and TAIEX By 31 October 2018 (but still referring to the 2017 SRSP cycle), the majority of the procurements were specific contracts based on framework contracts (52%) and direct procurement contracts for services (35%). A smaller part of the 2017 funding is being implemented under the TAIEX instrument to provide expert exchange from other Member States' administrations, and another part through simplified expert contracts for private sector experts (AMI list).

Delegation agreement By 31 October 2018 (but still referring to the 2017 SRSP cycle), 13 projects were being implemented in indirect management by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Administrative agreement In 2017, one administrative agreement was being implemented with the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority – covering 1 project. 4.Progress in relation to programme's objectives Institutional, administrative and growth-sustaining structural reforms are, by their very nature, complex processes, the design and implementation of which requires a complete chain of highly specialised knowledge and skills. In some Member States, the capacity to initiate and implement structural reforms is often not adequate to address the challenges ahead. Inadequate response to economic and social challenges could hamper competitiveness, growth, employment, and investment. Considering the European dimension of these challenges, the SRSP aims to reinforce the administrative capacity in the Member States and by doing so, helps Member States implement institutional, administrative and structural reforms. Enhanced administrative capacity can increase the efficiency of the administrative structures at the benefit of citizens and businesses. To this end, through its support measures, the SRSP aims to achieve the following results: ·enhanced ability of national authorities to identify and address economic and structural weaknesses; ·strengthened ability in developing, designing and implementing reform policies according to priorities; ·enhanced capacity of Member States' national authorities to define processes and methodologies to support reform design, management and implementation, and/or the efficiency and effectiveness of human resources; ·increased professional knowledge, skills and adaptability to change management processes; enhanced channels of communication established with the Commission, Member States and international organisations in order to improve communication and coordination of reform efforts; and ·enhanced capacity to ensure progress of reforms recommended within the European Semester cycle, economic adjustment programmes, Member State's own-initiative reforms, and to ensure consistent and coherent implementation of Union law. Against this background, the intervention logic of the Programme can be illustrated in the chart below: the activities under the Programme produce outputs, which then generate results. The results then contribute to the achievement of the specific objectives at the project and programme level. This in turn feeds into the progress towards the achievement of the general objective of the Programme – supporting growth-sustaining structural reforms in the Member States.









4.1.Progress in achieving the general objective As spelled out in Article 4 of the SRSP Regulation, the general objective of the Programme is to contribute to institutional, administrative and growth-sustaining structural reforms in the Member States, by providing support to national authorities for measures aimed at reforming and strengthening institutions, governance, public administration, and economic and social sectors in response to economic and social challenges, with a view to enhancing cohesion, competitiveness, productivity, sustainable growth, job creation, and investment, in particular in the context of economic governance processes, including through assistance for the efficient, effective and transparent use of the Union funds. Support measures are being implemented in those policy sectors for which institutional, administrative and/or structural reforms have been envisaged and/or should be undertaken by the Member States, also thanks to the support provided. The table below shows that the support measures underway (across the requesting Member States, as part of the in 2017 SRSP round) contribute to the implementation of institutional, administrative and structural reforms that Member States face in various economic and social sectors, and which are being undertaken in response to economic and social challenges: N° of support measures Contribution to institutional and administrative reforms ·Effectiveness of the judicial system 4 ·Efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector 9 ·Public financial management reforms 6 ·Anti-corruption / anti-money-laundering 1 ·Digital economy/ digital public administration 6 ·Reforms improving the regulatory frameworks (Better Regulation) 7 ·Reforms in public procurements rules 2 ·Spending reviews 2 ·Tax administration reforms 18 Contribution to economic-related and social-related reforms ·Acceleration of Trans-European Networks for Transport projects 1 ·Enhancing competitiveness and productivity of SMEs 5 ·Implementing legal frameworks in environment, circular economy, water, land registry and spatial planning 6 ·Making healthcare systems more accessible, effective and resilient 14 ·Investment management & public private partnerships 3 ·Legal Framework addressing insolvency 4 ·Monitoring and evaluation systems of labour market policies 5 ·Capital market development & Investment Plan for Europe 16 ·Improving the quality and innovation of educational and training systems 8 ·Bank supervision and resolution frameworks 7 ·Pensions and disabilities schemes 5 ·Energy efficiency, energy poverty and renewables 10 ·Social assistance management information systems 4 ·Technological innovation 2 TOTAL 145



4.2.Progress in achieving the specific objectives Support measures carried out under the SRSP 2017 are also contributing to the specific objectives of the Programme in the following way (cf. Annex II for more details): a)41% of support measures contribute to the design of reforms. oThe majority of support measures contributing to this objective cover the following areas: capital markets union; revenue administration; environment, circular economy, water, land registry; healthcare; and energy. b)63% contribute to the formulation, development and implementation of reforms; oThe majority of support measures contributing to this objective cover the following areas: capital markets union; healthcare; revenue administration; environment, circular economy, water, land registry; and better regulation.

c)61% contribute to the definition and implementation of processes and methodologies; oThe majority of support measures contributing to this objective cover the following areas: revenue administration; healthcare; environment, circular economy, water, land registry; energy; social policies; and insolvency. d)9% of support measures aim to help improve efficiency and effectiveness of human-resources management. oThe majority of support measures contributing to this objective cover the following areas: healthcare; and education and training. 4.3.Expected results of the SRSP activities In line with the intervention logic of the Programme illustrated in figure 16, the support measures carried out under the SRSP 2017 are expected to achieve results that will ultimately contribute to the achievement of the SRSP objectives (general and specific ones) in the following way. a)24% of support measures are expected to lead to an adoption of a strategy, draft of a new law, act or modification of an existing one; b)38% of support measures are expected to lead to an adoption of (new) procedures and actions to enhance the implementation of reforms; c)44% of support measures strive to deliver improved internal working procedures; methodologies and processes/organisation; d)8% of support measures aim at an organisational change, change management, at improving human resource management; e)28% of support measures are expected to lead to other result (putting in place monitoring and implementation measures, improved understanding of alternatives, ability to respond to requests from other Member States, defining technical requirements, etc.). 4.4.Examples of finalised (or close to finalisation) support measures

An analysis of the actual results of the support delivered, or of the possible expected impact of the measures can be carried out, case by case, for the support measures that have already been finalised (or which are close to being finalised). Some illustrative examples are reported below: ·Housing and special protection for children which are victims of crime oGuidelines promoting coordination and teamwork that is required to ensure a timely, comprehensive, coordinated and child-friendly response by the State towards child who are victims of crime endorsed by several ministries. oA roadmap for the establishment, operation and evaluation of a house for children. ·Improving the efficiency of the health system oReports on minimum volume thresholds for selected hospital treatments; on competencies of general practitioners and scope for change; on expanding competencies of general practitioners (policy routes and recommendations); and on key issues and good practices for improving value-for-money in medical equipment. oA review of the evidence on the volume-outcome relationship and country experiences using minimum volume standards, as well as exchange of good practices in the procurement of medical devices. oThe support measures are expected to contribute to improving effectiveness and efficiency of the health system. ·Regulatory impact assessment oReview of the current regulatory impact assessment system and recommendations for its improvement; review and recommendations on the regulatory cost calculator currently used by the national authorities; and a statistical study on regulatory costs. oAs a result, the national administration upgraded its tools for regulatory impact assessment and should in the coming months increase the staffing of the unit. ·Strengthening the effectiveness of the judicial system oExchange of experiences among judges from other Member States to share their national practices with the national authorities: focus on court administration, individual evaluation of judges and certification of professionals assisting the court as experts, interpreters and appraisers. oAs a result, several proposals for laws were drafted. Finalisation and follow-up by the Ministry of Justice of the Member State is underway. ·Supporting the state revenue service in implementing its mid-term tax strategy oIdentification of discrepancies between potential VAT collectable and actual VAT collected to analyse the main kinds of VAT fraud committed (in cooperation with the state revenue service). oThrough improved working methods and enhanced taxpayer compliance regime, the support measures are expected to increase the tax revenue and improve taxpayer compliance.

·Capital markets diagnostic oA study diagnosing the status of capital markets at national level, providing an analysis on how to support companies via other than bank financing. oThe support measures are being delivered in the context of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by several Member States, committing to develop regional capital markets. In some cases, the support measures provided have also generated a leverage of funding from other Union programmes (e.g. technical support provided to national authorities of a Member State to develop a strategic roadmap for the digitisation of industry which helped the authorities secure funding from the ESIF to implement a strategic roadmap). In other cases, the support measures provided have helped developing greater potential for identifying investment projects that can blend EU-level financial instruments, such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), with national financial instruments and the structural funds. 4.5.European Added Value Actions selected under the SRSP 2017 round are designed to ensure complementarity and synergy with other programmes and policies at national, Union and international level; contribute to further promote mutual trust and cooperation between beneficiary Member States and the Commission; and ensure a consistent and coherent implementation of Union law. In addition, some actions should allow for the development and implementation of solutions that address national challenges but also have a positive cross-border impact and/or for the Union as a whole. The Commission is in a better position than any single Member State to identify and channel good practices. Thus, in many instances, the support measures delivered to the Member States have been enhanced through the exchange of good practices among the Member States and by international organisations. This also enabled efficiency gains, as positive results in one Member State can often be implemented in another one. Support measures implemented under the SRSP 2017 are expected to generate European added value in the following way : ·53% of support measures are expected to have an impact on cross-border or Union-wide challenges; oe.g. some support measures provided under the SRSP in the area of capital markets or the health system reforms (pan-regional covered bond framework, framework for assessing the performance of health systems in two countries) address cross-border issues with cross-border solutions and respond to Union-wide challenges. ·29% are expected to contribute to the consistent and coherent implementation of Union laws and policies; oe.g. some support measures provided aim to help the a Member States develop capital markets, or to assist them in developing their 2030 national energy and climate plans. ·40% of support measures are expected to contribute to the sharing of good practices, also with a view to increasing the visibility of the Programme; oe.g. support measures provided under the SRSP which enabled exchanges of best practices between several countries on supplementary pension schemes. ·37% are expected to promote mutual trust between the beneficiary Member State and the Commission and between the Member States. oe.g. support measures enabling exchange of experts between a national ministerial energy authority and another administration to help better understand, measure and combat energy poverty.

5.Conclusion

Structural reforms are crucial to modernise Member State's economy, encourage investment, generate jobs and raise living standards. The overall successful implementation of reforms requires good administrative capacity a great sense of ownership of the reform process, including the technical support thereof by the recipient national authority. In implementing the SRSP, the Commission has proceeded to the selection and implementation of support measures in accordance with the principle and criteria laid down in the SRSP Regulation and of the other relevant and applicable pieces of EU law. This report provides an account of how the Commission has implemented the Programme and how it is monitoring its actions in 2017. Overall, the first year of implementation of the SRSP shows that it can offer a significant contribution to the national authorities of the Member States in their continued efforts to identify and overcome certain structural weaknesses and bottlenecks in the design or implementation of reforms, and in the reform prioritisation. Likewise, the Programme has so far proven to be a significant tool in enhancing Member States' capacity to define more efficient processes and methodologies and/or to progress towards more effective human resource management. While results of the support actions are related to the specific projects, the effective follow-up on such actions in terms of concretisation of reforms remain a prerogative of the recipient Member State.



ANNEX I List of support measures implemented under SRSP 2017 Governance and Public Administration Improvement of the national public procurement system Human resources management within the national planning authority Improvement of EU law enforcement: joint events between Member states and SOLVIT centres – promotion of best practices Enhancement of the efficiency of the public sector Introduction of evaluation of all judges for the period of 3 years Feasibility study for setting up a "House for Children" Preparation of a strategic document for the development of judiciary Strategy for internal audit and training internal auditors at the level of local government Communication of the priority reforms of the government Preparation of the General Data Protection Regulation Anti-money-laundering training programme Growth and Business Environment Technical assistance for energy planning, renewable energy and energy efficiency Creation of a statistical model for the study and monitoring of energy poverty Inspections and market surveillance framework reform Technical support for Compliance Assistance Digital Tools [for SMEs] Competition Council State ownership policy review Accelerated building of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) Family businesses Export credit guarantees Awareness raising framework on the principles, objectives and implementation effectiveness of maritime spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management Research on SMART cities Review of National Policy Framework for Alternative Fuel Infrastructure in Transport – gap analysis Urban regeneration and reform in the implementation of projects, operations and management Strengthening the administrative capacity of the planning authority to implement the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive Enhancement of competitiveness and productivity analysis Service market liberalisation Integral system of evaluation of all Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) activities Introduction and implementation of the principles of digital construction for planning, design, construction and use of public real estate Industry transformation (digitalisation) Capacity building in formative evaluations Enforcement of aid expense recording within the national aid register Support for the establishment of special economic zones in in less developed areas Open laboratory for test and validation of innovative technologies and application Improvement of regulatory framework quality Regulatory impact assessment Improvement of regulatory framework quality Simplification methodology standard cost model Impact assessment of integrated national energy and climate plans Increasing competitiveness through internationalisation and better stimulating arrivals of "proper & fit" foreign direct investment Function analysis of coordinating agencies of state-owned enterprise governance Support to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue for the implementation of the trade facilitation roadmap Cooperation mechanism – joint projects – statistical transfer under Renewable Energy Directive – transport target Development of a methodology for calculating the obligatory cumulative end-use energy saving target and comprehensive study on the optimal combination of energy saving measures Development of the 2030 national energy and climate plan Support to elaborate legal and regulatory frameworks on closed distribution system and self-consumption assessment Strengthen the analytical, administrative and marketing capacity in relation to attracting direct foreign investment Development of the Open Source Energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS) to account for atmospheric pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions Building Information Modelling (BIM) implementation for transport infrastructure projects Restructuring of state-owned enterprises Investment promotion Improving environmental monitoring system Energy efficiency Simplification – Study Legislation Economic and environmental regulation in water and wastewater sector Request for embedded experts tasked with a project pipeline development for the purposes of the Investment Plan for Europe Labour Market, Education, Health and Social Services Development of pension modelling capacity Design of the budget negotiation strategy of the Health Insurance Organisation with healthcare providers Creation and implementation of the national eHealth centre Developing health system performance assessment Support on the implementation and effective operation of the new health procurement authority Education (curriculum) reform Developing health system performance assessment Developing capacity planning for the Ministry of Health Functional integration of hospitals Capacity building for management of projects to build regional hospitals Improving health system efficiency Elaboration of procurement specifications for the development of a e-accreditation system of the Ministry of Labour Early warning system for early school leaving Improved exchange of data for social assistance Delivery of an integrated management information system for active labour market policies - monitoring and evaluation system Reclassification of social benefits using European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS) methodology Addressing the labour market segmentation through development of appropriate analytical tools Reform of the state pensions system Technical support to the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice Public loan support system Capacity building for implementation of new long-term care act Patient reported experience measures and patient reported outcome measures Monitoring and implementing measures for sentinel and other adverse events Training of public administration in health Assessing the effect of large support schemes to innovative investments in terms of ability to absorb high-skilled labour force Reform of the medical assessment service Support for the implementation of the national qualification framework Implementation of the action plan for tackling undeclared work Best practices from other countries in the context of establishment of new National Institute for Technology Implementation of the Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) system in the health sector Exchange of best practices on adjusting supplementary pension schemes New IT solutions for pension calculation and financial processing of pensions Support on the reform of the disability assessment system Support for the setting the criteria for reimbursement of the results of health care technology assessment Development and implementation of labour migration strategy National information system for adult education Development of monitoring system for school teachers' demand at local level Bullying - reducing violence among minors Revenue Administration and Public Financial Management Strengthening the management of business processes of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration Comprehensive spending review Changing the approach to collecting overdue public claims Establishment of an expenditure review process Excise tax gap analysis Reform of taxpayer services Government accounting reform – transition to accrual accounting reporting Comprehensive budgetary system reform Development of a new corrective and compensatory mechanism for local government units Implementation of the compliance risk management model Development and implementation of the measurement, monitoring and evaluation system in a national revenue administration Technical support to improve the quality of customer services through the development of services aimed at persons with special needs Strategy for voluntary tax compliance Transfer pricing seminar Acquiring specific skills and introduction to the good practices in the field of transfer pricing Statistics – monitoring of statistics, quality assessment and breach reports Design of the accrual accounting reform based on International and European Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS/EPSAS) Enhance experience and knowledge on automated processes in the control of movement of goods for tax purposes Strengthening the projects portfolio management within the national agency for fiscal administration Strengthening the strategic planning activity and functions of the national agency for fiscal administration Increase the knowledge and skills of the revenue administration officials and develop working documents for using the information exchanged through the Mini One-Stop-Shop (MOSS) system Obtaining technical knowledge on transition to accrual accounting Technical assistance in the implementation of the mid-term tax strategy Strengthening the administrative capacity on monitoring and control over e-commerce Develop organizational change management competences/abilities in the context of implementation of a new integrated information system Public financial management reform: budget framework law implementation Financial Services and Access to Finance Supporting the new framework for insolvency administrators Supporting the Framework for Insolvency and Restructuring Practitioners Preparation of SME equity support instrument Addressing corporate insolvency reform Operationalisation of resolution tool – Special Purpose Vehicle asset management Capital market diagnostic Developing a communication strategy on financial literacy Analysis of business angels and promotion of business angels National strategy for electronic payments Legal and regulatory covered bond and securitisation framework reform Moving towards emerging market status Drawing up a strategy for capital market development Setting up a national promotional bank Improvement of investment environment for institutional investors Development of a single entry point for disclosure and distribution of information by market participants (‘single entry point’) Preparation of a national strategy on the development of the national capital market Supporting the new framework for insolvency practitioners Effective modelling of non-maturing deposits to manage liquidity and interest rate risk Consolidating risk based supervision across all sectors – insurance and issuer's transparency Organizational effectiveness of financial sector regulator – value added benchmarking Opening the national regulatory framework for innovative technical solutions Integration and improvement of risk based supervision in financial services supervisory authority Legal and regulatory framework for creation of structured products (covered bond and securitisation) and enforceability of hedging instruments (close-out netting for derivatives and repos) Capital markets and the capital markets union – access to finance Strengthening the institutional and administrative capacities of the financial supervision authority to address the new supervisory tasks resulting from the implementation of the European Union law Preparation of a feasibility study for building a new cash centre



ANNEX II progress in achieving specific objectives of the programme Support measures carried out under the SRSP 2017 are expected to contribute to the specific objectives of the Programme in the following way : a)41% of support measures contribute to the design of reforms; b)63% contribute to the formulation, development and implementation of reforms;