What legislative and non-legislative policy options have been considered? Is there a preferred choice or not? Why?

The impact assessment examined the existing Commission instruments for supporting the implementation of structural reforms. It concluded that while there are some instruments at EU level to support the implementation of structural reforms, they are insufficient to address the drivers behind the low and uneven implementation and to promote the needed structural and administrative reforms. The European Semester is an effective soft-law tool for outlining challenges and reform needs and for keeping track of responses from Member States to meet those needs, but the European Semester process itself has no enforcement arm and no tool to provide actual incentives for reform. Technical support provided through the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP) has a limited budget and this Programme ends on 31 December 2020. The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), which will be denominated the “Union Funds” under the new Common Provision Regulation, finance the implementation of some structural reforms and provide encouragement for some reforms, notably through the application of ex-ante conditionalities. However the goals and intervention logic of the ESIF and the future “Union Funds” remain geared towards investment rather than reform. Finally, there is currently no targeted support for non-euro-area Member States wishing to join the euro area, which could accelerate the process of convergence in those Member States. Therefore, under a no-policy-change scenario, these instruments at Commission's disposal to facilitate and promote the needed structural and administrative reforms in the EU Member States would prove insufficient. The establishment of a new Reform Support Programme is the preferred option as it would allow for a contribution to addressing the problem in a comprehensive manner, by strengthening the current technical support offered through the SRSP, adding a targeted instrument providing financial support for the implementation of reforms and adding a targeted instrument to support the implementation of reforms in non-euro-area Member States. While the technical support would contribute towards enhancing the administrative capacity of all EU Member States, additional financial incentives would help provide further stimulus for undertaking reforms. In addition, a dedicated Convergence Facility providing targeted financial and technical support to Member States seeking to adopt the euro will allow for help to be provided for preparing for successful participation in the euro area, enhance resilience and foster greater convergence within the Economic and Monetary Union. THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW PROGRAMME The Reform Support Programme will have an overall budget of EUR 25 billion and the take-up of the Programme will be fully voluntary. The Programme will offer financial and technical support for priority reforms at national level. It will include the following instruments: ·The Reform Delivery Tool, which will provide financial support across all Member States for key reforms identified in the context of the European Semester; ·Tailor-made Technical Support Instrument provided to Member States (extension of the current Structural Reform Support Programme), upon their request, which will aim to strengthen Member States’ administrative capacity in the preparation, design and implementation of growth-enhancing reforms; and ·The Convergence Facility to provide dedicated financial and technical support to Member States seeking to adopt the euro. Appropriate safeguards in the design of the Reform Delivery Tool, such as the payment at the end of the implementation of Member States' reform commitments, identification of reforms within the European Semester, discussion of the reform commitment proposals in the Economic Policy Committee (in consultation where appropriate with relevant Treaty-based Committees) or suspension and cancellation of payment in the case of incomplete or unfinished reform commitments, will ensure that the risk of moral hazard is limited.