REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Monitoring Report on the implementation of Structural Reform Support Programme 2017
Date: 2018-11-21
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU aid, EU programme, activity report, administrative reform, economic convergence, economic reform, fund (EU), institutional reform, structural adjustment, sustainable development

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 21.11.2018 COM(2018) 755 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Monitoring Report on the implementation of Structural Reform Support Programme 2017 {SWD(2018) 465 final}  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
AND THE COUNCIL 

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

INTRODUCTION 

Since 2017, the European Commission has been managing a dedicated programme with 
an  initial  budget  of  EUR  142.8  million1  (increased  to  EUR  222.8  million  with  the 
amendment of the Regulation (EU) 2017/8252) aimed at supporting Member States in the 
design and implementation of institutional, administrative and growth-enhancing reforms 
– the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP).  

Structural  reforms  are,  by  their  very  nature,  complex  processes,  the  design  and 
implementation of which require 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 administrative, economic and social challenges that 
such reforms entail. 

institutional,  administrative  and  growth-enhancing 

The  objective  of  the  Structural  Reform  Support  Programme  is  thus  to  help  Member 
States  address  those  challenges  and  strengthen  their  capacity  to  prepare  and 
thereby 
implement 
contributing  to  strengthening  institutions,  governance  processes,  public  administrations 
as well as to  improving performance and resilience of the economic and  social  sectors. 
The goal  is  to  enhance cohesion,  competitiveness, productivity, sustainable growth, job 
creation and investment. 

reforms, 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME IN YEAR 2017 

2017 was the first year of the implementation of activities under the SRSP. Already in 
the first round of the Programme, the demand from Member States far exceeded the 
available budget. 16 Member States submitted 271 requests for support for an estimated 
amount almost 4 times the available annual SRSP 2017 budget of EUR 22.5 million.  

To select the requests from the Member States for funding under the SRSP in 2017, the 
Commission  assessed  the  requests  against  the  principles  and  criteria  established  in 
the SRSP Regulation. As a result, 159 requests from 16 Member States were selected 
for funding.  

1 Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on the establishment of 
the Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 and amending Regulations (EU) 1303/2013 and 
(EU) No 1305/2013 (SRSP Regulation). 

2  On  6  December  2017,  the  Commission  proposed  to  amend  the  SRSP  Regulation  to  increase  the  budget  of  the 
Programme  by  EUR  80  million  and  add  support  for  euro-area  membership  to  the  goals  for  which  the  Programme 
contributes.  The  Regulation  (EU)  2018/1671  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  October  2018 
amending Regulation (EU) 2017/825 to increase the financial envelope of the Structural Reform Support Programme 
and adapt its general objective entered into force on 13 November 2018. 

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The distribution of the selected requests across the main policy areas was as follows:  

  29% in the area of labour market, education, health and social policy;  
  28% in the area of growth and business environment;  
  18% in the area of revenue administration and public financial management;  
  16% related to financial services and access to finance; and  
  9% related to governance and public administration. 

In line with the principle of sound financial management, priority for funding was given 
to  requests  that  allowed  for  quick  delivery  of  support  and  rapid  implementation  of 
reforms  on  the  ground,  and  to  requests  addressing  defined  objectives,  with  strong 
expected results on the ground.  

Almost 90% of the requests that were selected for funding in 2017 relate directly to 
EU's strategic priorities. 

The  breakdown  of  the  selected  requests  split  according  to  the  relevant  circumstances 
under  which  they  may  be  submitted  under  the  SRSP  Regulation  (Article  7(3))  was  as 
follows:  

  51% of selected requests related to the implementation of reforms in response to 
challenges highlighted in the process of the European Semester (Country-Specific 
Recommendations, country reports);  

  27%  of  selected  requests  related  to  the  implementation  of  the  Union  strategic 

priorities (Capital Markets Union, Energy Union and climate, etc.);  
  7% of selected requests related to the implementation of Union law; and  
  4%  of  selected  requests  related  to  the  implementation  of  the  EU's  economic 

adjustment programmes.   

While  it  is  not  in  the  remit  of  this  report  to  evaluate  the  actual  impact  of  the  support 
measures, it is fair to say that already 14 months since the start of the implementation of 
the  support  measures  selected  for  funding,  the  Programme  had  started  to  deliver  the 
expected outputs – whether in the form of strategic and legal advice, studies, training, 
workshops, recommendations, actions plans, etc.  

By  31  October  2018,  12%  of  the  reform  support  projects  had  already  been  delivered 
(finalised),  82%  had  begun  to  be  implemented  on  the  ground  and  6%  were  under 
preparation. 

The largest proportion of support measures implemented in 2017 aim at:  

improving the functioning of national revenue administrations (11%);  

 
  promoting the development of national and cross-border capital markets (9%);  
  making healthcare systems more accessible, effective and resilient (9%);  
 

reforming  the  energy  frameworks,  including  transitioning  towards  low-carbon 
economy, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy (6%);  

  strengthening education and training schemes (5%); and  
  enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector (5%). 

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PROGRESS IN RELATION TO PROGRAMME'S OBJECTIVES 
The  Programme  is  also  on  track  when  it  comes  to  delivering  on  its  general  objective3. 
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. In particular, all 
of  the  support  measures  selected  under  the  SRSP  2017  round  contribute  to  the 
implementation  of  institutional,  administrative  and  structural  reforms  that  Member 
States carry out in various economic and social sectors, and which are being undertaken 
in response to economic and social challenges. 

Overall, the  first  year of implementation  of the  SRSP shows that the SRSP can offer a 
significant  contribution  in  helping  the  Member  States'  national  authorities  in  their 
efforts  to  identify  and  overcome  certain  structural  weaknesses  hindering  the  design 
and  implementation  of  reforms.  The  Programme  has  for  example  helped  reviewing  the 
current law-making procedures, identifying weaknesses and providing recommendations 
for  improvements.  Likewise,  the  Programme  has  also  proven  to  be  an  important  tool 
helping to enhance the capacity of Member States to define more efficient processes and 
methodologies  (improving  the  efficiency  of  health  system)  and/or  to  progress  towards 
more  effective  human  resource  management  (exchange  of  experiences  among  judges 
from  different  Member  States  to  share  their  national  practices  with  the  requesting 
Member State). 

Actions  selected  under  the  SRSP  2017  round  are  designed  to  ensure  European  added 
value inter alia through  complementarity and synergies with  other programmes and 
policies at national, Union and international level, and/or through their contribution to the 
promotion  of  mutual  trust  and  cooperation  between  beneficiary  Member  States  and 
the  Commission.  In  addition,  actions  also  aim  to  allow  for  the  development  and 
implementation  of  solutions  that  address  national  challenges  but  also  have  a  positive 
impact  on  cross-border  or  Union-wide  challenges.  As  an  example,  the  following 
support measures can be singled out:  

  support  measures  strengthening  the  development  of  regional  capital  markets 

and facilitating the introduction of a pan-regional covered bond framework; 

  support for the assessment  of the  performance of health  systems  in  parallel  in 
two  countries,  benefiting  from  EU  level  mutual  learning  and  cooperation  and 
building  on  the  experience  from  one  Member  States  to  help  tailor  support  for 
another one;  

  establishing  mutual  trust  by  enabling  exchange  of  experts  between  a  national 
ministerial  energy  authority  and  another  administration  to  help  better 
understand, measure and combat energy poverty; or 

  enabling exchanges of best practice between several countries on the introduction 

of different pension schemes. 

Since  the  Commission  is  in  a  better  position  than  any  single  Member  State  to  identify 
and channel  good practices, in  many instances, the support measures delivered to the 
Member States have consisted or have been complemented through the exchange of good 
practices  among  the  Member  States  and  by  international  organisations.  This  has  also 

3 Some external factors may influence the results of the support measures and there is a risk that the sought reforms are 
not  implemented  in  the  end.  For  this  reason,  the  causal  link  between  the  support  measures  provided  under  the 
Programme and the achievement of the general objective has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and by taking into 
account the influencing external factors. 

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enabled  efficiency  gains,  as  positive  results  in  one  Member  State  can  often  be 
implemented in another one. 

CONCLUSION 

Overall,  the  first  year  of  implementation  of  the  SRSP  shows  that  it  can  significantly 
contribute to the continued efforts of the national authorities of the Member States 
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. 

However, while the results of the support actions are related to the specific projects, the 
effective  follow-up  on  such  actions  in  terms  of  implementation  of  concrete  reforms 
remains a prerogative of the recipient Member State.  

The Commission will continue to monitor the uptake of the support measures, as well as 
the  implementation  of  institutional,  administrative  and  growth-enhancing  reforms  (the 
achievement of the objective of the Programme) in the years to come. 

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