3 years Structural Reform Support Service : supporting reforms that enhance growth and job creation across the EU.
Date: 2019-03-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: European Union, administrative reform, economic growth, economic reform, job creation, structural adjustment, structural policy, support mechanism

STRUCTURAL  REFORM 
SUPPORT  SERVICE
Supporting reforms that enhance growth  
and job creation across the EU

Structural 
Reform Support 
Service

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018

© European Union, 2018 

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ISBN 978-92-79-90383-0  

doi:10.2775/260559  

NA-04-18-670-EN-C

ISBN 978-92-79-90384-7    

doi:10.2775/272176 

NA-04-18-670-EN-N

 2  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

MESSAGE FROM 
VICE-PRESIDENT 
DOMBROVSKIS

—

Valdis Dombrovskis
Vice-President of the European 
Commission

It is with great pleasure that I present this report on 
the first three years of operation of the European 
Commission’s Structural Reform Support Service. Over 
this period, the Service has successfully provided support, 
through the Structural Reform Support Programme or 
other sources, for almost 500 reform projects in 25 EU 
countries — an impressive achievement indeed.

Implementing structural reforms is crucial to modernising 
European economies and boosting their competitiveness, 
growth potential and capacity to adjust to changing 
times. Well-targeted reforms of public institutions and 
of labour, product and service markets will lead to more 
investment and jobs and better social conditions.

Our economic destinies are bound together by the 
internal market and the euro. Reforms have therefore 
become a matter of common concern. Through the 
Structural Reform Support Service, the Commission 
supports Member States’ reform initiatives while 
enabling them to share best practices and learn from 
each other’s experience.

The European Commission intends to continue and 
further expand the work of the Structural Reform Support 
Service, building on its success so far and strengthening 
our reform partnerships.

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  3

MESSAGE FROM 
THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL 
OF THE STRUCTURAL 
REFORM SUPPORT 
SERVICE (SRSS)

Making a difference

The success of our economic and monetary union depends on the 
strength and resilience of the economies of our Member States.  
In a rapidly changing world, Member States need to maximise their 
policies and institutions to ensure lasting prosperity for their people. 
This means, for example, reforming education and healthcare 
systems, creating business-friendly environments, providing for 
responsible fiscal and tax policies, increasing the efficiency of 
national public administrations and judicial systems. Well-functioning 
economies and administrations of the Member States are crucial for 
the success of the European economic and monetary union and 
for improving access to finance. 

This is why, in 2015, the European Commission decided to create 
the Structural Reform Support Service. The service is unique in many 
ways. The technical support it offers is purely on demand, tailor-
made to the beneficiary Member States and easy to use. It covers 
virtually all areas of structural reforms.

Since the launch of the service, demand for SRSS support has far 
outstripped our own expectations. To date, the SRSS has engaged, 
through the Structural Reform Support Programme or other sources, 
in almost 500 technical support projects in 25 EU countries. 
It has also taken on special assignments like support for migration 
management in Greece until June 2018, support for Cyprus's 
reunification and a new role as the Commission’s coordinating 
service for public administration and governance in June 2018.

 4  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

In the years to come, we will continue to support reform initiatives 
in EU Member States, by providing the right expertise and 
encouragement. This report shows what the Structural Reform 
Support Service has achieved so far, where its support has made a 
difference, and where we see areas for future work. It is intended to 
inform European citizens and to stimulate interest in the practical 
aspects of reforms. 

—

Maarten Verwey
Director-General, Structural 
Reform Support Service

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  5

08
09

10
11
12

13 I

17 I

22
23
24

25
26
27

S
T
N
E
T
N
O
C

How we started

What do we do now

Programme & budget

Where we help

How we work

Annual programme cycles

2017 programme cycle

2018 programme cycle

Supporting the reunification of Cyprus 

Supporting the migration management in Greece

FOCUS STORY: Support for Greece in the context 
of the financial crisis

FOCUS STORY: Support for the capital markets union

Outlook for the SRSS

Contact details

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  7

STRUCTURAL
REFORM SUPPORT 
SERVICE

SUPPORT 
GROUP FOR  
CYPRUS

HOW WE STARTED

The Structural Reform Support Service grew out of 
the EU’s initial efforts to help its member countries 
overcome the effects of the euro crisis that started 
in 2009.

2011

The first step was the creation by the Commission 
of a special Task Force for Greece, at the request 
of the Greek authorities. The goal was to help the 
country make a series of reforms, which formed 
part of its financial assistance package from the EU 
(‘economic adjustment programme’).

The reforms covered all sectors of the economy 
and were designed to bring about rapid economic 
recovery. The task force was also mandated to help 
the Greek authorities more rapidly absorb EU funds 
available that target economic competitiveness, 
growth and employment.

2013

The Greek task force was followed in 2013 — at 
the request of the Cypriot authorities — by a similar 
body, with a similar mission — the Support Group 
for Cyprus.

TASK 
FORCE FOR 
GREECE

2015

Given the success of these task forces, and seeing 
the benefits that structural reforms could have in 
making economies more flexible and competitive, 
in 2015 the Commission decided to create a 
more permanent structure that could serve all EU 
countries, whether they were under an adjustment 
programme or not. The Structural Reform Support 
Service was born.

 8  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

2020

2019

2018

2017

SRSP

WHAT DO 
WE DO NOW?

PROGRAMME 
& BUDGET

The SRSS has a mandate to help EU member 
countries prepare, design and implement growth-
generating reforms. The focus is on providing tailor-
made support on the ground.

Since 2017, we have been managing a dedicated 
programme — the Structural Reform Support 
Programme (SRSP) — with a budget of 
€142.8 million in 2017-2020.

We also steer and coordinate the ‘technical support’ 
offered to these countries by the Commission.

Broadly speaking, our support provides input on 
the practical aspects of reforms — in the form 
of strategic or legal advice, studies, training and 
in-country missions by experts. It covers the whole 
reform cycle — from identifying needs through 
implementation to monitoring & evaluating 
outcomes.

The SRSS also undertakes special assignments to 
deal with specific issues faced by particular 
countries, such as migration management in 
Greece (until June 2018) and support for Cyprus’s 
reunification.

Under the programme, Member States can also 
transfer a part of unused EU funds allocated to them 
to the SRSS. So far two Member States (Greece and 
Bulgaria) have made use of this possibility.

The programme is the main source of funding for 
technical support projects in EU countries and 
does not require co-financing by the countries 
concerned.

Countries can request help from the programme to 
implement the following:
•  reforms proposed by the Commission, 
for example in its annual economic policy 
recommendations (the ‘European Semester’ 
process)
•  measures they have to take to implement EU law 
or Union priorities
•  assistance packages to combat financial crises 
(‘economic adjustment programmes’)
•  reforms undertaken at their own initiative.

Having a dedicated programme has allowed the 
SRSS to significantly increase the assistance we 
provide to national governments — today we support 
projects in 25 EU countries. 

2019

2020
2018

2017

SRSP

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  9

WHERE WE HELP

The SRSS provides support in five main areas:

Governance & public 
administration

The SRSS works with the different levels of 
government in EU Member States (national, regional 
and local) on reforms targeting effectiveness and 
efficiency in administration. Its work focuses on the 
operational aspects of administration, transparency 
and ethics, anti-corruption and anti-fraud, 
procurement, justice and digitisation.

Revenue administration, tax policy 
& public financial management

The SRSS assists EU Member States with reforming 
their tax policies and revenue administrations to 
collect taxes in a fair and efficient way, and with 
reforming their public financial management to 
achieve efficient allocation of public funds.

Financial sector & access to 
finance

The SRSS works with governments, central banks and 
supervisory authorities on reforms for the financial 
sector designed to improve access to finance for 
companies, increase financial supervisory capacity, 
strengthen crisis management mechanisms and 
ensure the efficient allocation of capital.

Growth & business 
environment

The SRSS helps EU Member States build strong and 
green economies with competitive and innovative 
businesses. The reforms target key sectors such as 
energy, environment, trade and transport, better 
regulation, licensing and inspection, investment 
management and governance of public companies.

Labour market, education, health 
& social services

The SRSS supports EU Member States to improve 
pension and health systems, address skills gaps, 
reform education, promote social cohesion, help 
migrants and refugees’ integration and make labour 
markets more effective.

 10  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

‘The experts of the SRSS, and in 
particular the Irish experts, carried 
out an in-depth examination of the 
problems of the Cypriot judicial system 
in close cooperation with the Supreme 
Court, the Cyprus Bar Association and 
the relevant Ministries, and came up 
with recommendations to address 
them. We are facing the most important 
reform of the structure and functioning 
of the Court system that has taken place 
over the last years and we are grateful 
to the European Union and the Irish 
Public Authority for their great help.’

—

President of the Cypriot 
Supreme Court

HOW WE WORK

The technical support provided by the SRSS can 
take the form of:
•  expert & fact-finding missions on the ground to 
assess the situation
•  diagnostic analyses & recommendations on how to 
address the situation
•  sharing of relevant best practices through seminars, 
conferences & workshops
•  development and implementation of targeted 
solutions to address the situation

The support is on demand, tailored to the needs of 
the beneficiary through dialogue, and easy to use.

To deliver this support, we use a wide range of 
experts from national administrations, international 
organisations (including the Commission) and private 
firms/consultancies.

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  11

ANNUAL 
PROGRAMME CYCLES

Projects to provide technical support are funded by 
the Structural Reform Support Programme in annual 
cycles, as follows:

1. Every year, EU governments submit their 
request for technical support to the SRSS, 
identifying their priorities and policy areas. 

2. We analyse the requests, based on the 
urgency of the proposed reform, the nature of the 
problem and the type of support needed. We also 
examine the relevant socioeconomic indicators and 
the general administrative capacity of the country 
concerned, as well as any other relevant EU-funded 
measures it may already be benefiting from.

3. We discuss our findings with the country 
submitting the request. 

4. We come to an agreement with the submitting 
country on the priority areas for support, its 
objectives and scope, an indicative timeline and 
an estimated total financial contribution from the 
programme — this is included in a cooperation and 
support plan agreed with the country.

The whole process is designed to be transparent, 
give equal treatment to all requests and apply 
principles of sound financial management.

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

 12  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

Not counting the 
preparatory year 
2016, there have 
been two annual 
cycles so far: 
2017 and 2018.

50

40

30

20

10

0

47

40

32

24

3*

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Total budget allocation 
(in million of €)

* preparatory measures

ESTONIA

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

ROMANIA

BULGARIA

FRANCE

POLAND

CZECH

REPUBLIC

SLOVAKIA

SLOVENIA

CROATIA

PORTUGAL

ITALY

MALTA

GREECE

CYPRUS

ANNUAL
SRSP CYCLE 
2017

ESTONIA

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

FRANCE

POLAND

CZECH
REPUBLIC

SLOVAKIA

SLOVENIA

CROATIA

PORTUGAL

ITALY

ROMANIA

BULGARIA

MALTA

GREECE

CYPRUS

EXAMPLES OF 
THE PROJECTS 
FINANCED 
IN 2017 INCLUDE:

Governance and public 
administration

CROATIA 

STRENGTHENING
THE EFFECTIVENESS 
OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The SRSS enabled judges from France, the 
Netherlands and Slovenia to share their 
national practices with the Croatian authorities. 
The project focused on court administration, 
individual evaluation of judges and certification 
of professionals assisting the court as experts, 
interpreters and appraisers. Several proposals for 
laws were drafted in these three areas thanks to 
the support provided. They are now being finalised 
by the Ministry of Justice.

BUDGET

€24

MILLION

271

REQUESTS RECEIVED
FOR SUPPORT WORTH
€83 MILLION

16

REQUESTING
COUNTRIES

159

SUCCESSFUL
REQUESTS

 14  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

‘SRSS has shown a high level of competence and took good care of matching our needs with 
providing suitable support. Tailor-made support was provided in a smooth and professional manner. 
We view the SRSS as a partner who is extremely concerned about our interests and strives to 
achieve the best possible quality in project implementation.’

—
Bulgarian Ministry of Economy
Supporting the development of tools for assisting SMEs 
with regulatory compliance in Bulgaria

Growth and business 
environment

BULGARIA

DEVELOPING
TOOLS TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES
WITH REGULATORY COMPLIANCE 

The SRSS is helping the Ministry of Economy to 
promote entrepreneurship and make it easier 
for small businesses to comply with the law. 
Drawing on business surveys, desk reviews and 
interviews with public authorities and business 
associations, the project is producing simple 
and user-friendly online guides for the 30 most 
complex and 70 most common regulations. The 
guides follow the life cycle of a business and 
offer step-by-step help to comply with complex 
and common administrative procedures.

Requests selected for 
SRSP 2017 funding

(Per Member State)

BG

HR

CY

CZ

EE

FR

EL

IT

LV

LT

MT

PL

PT

RO

SK

SI

0

3

1

13

14

9

10

9

9

10

18

13

11

15

13

4

7

2

4

6

8

10 12 14 16 18

20

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  15

Labour market, education, 
health & social services

Financial sector 
& access to finance

SLOVAKIA 

IMPROVING THE HEALTH
SYSTEM

ROMANIA 

ACCESS TO FINANCE

The SRSS provides technical support for the 
Ministry of Health and the Institute for Health 
Policies to pave the way for substantial reform 
to make the health system more effective and 
efficient. Support focuses on three main areas: 
(i) assessing hospital facilities and devising 
ways of optimising nationwide provision; (ii) 
strengthening the role of general practitioners 
and proposing new roles and competences 
for them; (iii) drafting guidelines and pooling 
experiences with a view to fair and open 
procurement of medical devices and equipment. 
Support was backed by exchanges of good 
practice with key players in other EU countries.

Revenue administration, 
tax policy and public 
financial management

LATVIA 

SUPPORTING THE STATE
REVENUE SERVICE IN IMPLEMENTING
LATVIA’S MID-TERM TAX STRATEGY

The SRSS is working with State Revenue Service 
officials to identify discrepancies between 
potential VAT collectable and actual VAT 
collected and analyse the main kinds of VAT 
fraud committed. Building on best international 
practices it is also developing a tax compliance 
strategy and administrative measures to tackle 
fraud.

 16  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

The SRSS is supporting the Ministry of Public 
Finance with setting up a national development 
bank. The project extends from design through 
to implementation. It includes assessing the 
market, producing a feasibility study and 
drafting strategic and business plans for the 
bank.

%
9
2

%
8
2

%
8
1

%
6
1

%
9

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Requests selected for 
SRSP 2017 funding
(per Area)

■  Revenue administration, tax policy 
and public financial management

■  Labour market, education, health 

& social services

■  Financial sector 

& access to finance

■  Governance and public 

administration

■ Growth and business environment

ANNUAL
SRSP CYCLE
2018

SWEDEN

FINLAND

ESTONIA

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

IRELAND

BELGIUM

GERMANY

POLAND

LUXEMBOURG

FRANCE

CZECH
REPUBLIC

AUSTRIA

SLOVAKIA

HUNGARY

SLOVENIA

CROATIA

SPAIN

PORTUGAL

ITALY

ROMANIA

BULGARIA

MALTA

GREECE

CYPRUS

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  17

EXAMPLES OF 
THE PROJECTS 
FINANCED 
IN 2018 INCLUDE:

Governance and public 
administration

ITALY 

IMPROVING
THE WHISTLEBLOWING 
MECHANISM

The SRSS is helping the authorities to make the 
management of the whistleblowing mechanism 
easier and more efficient. The project involves 
evaluating the needs and capacity of the current 
system, making recommendations on how to 
improve the handling of whistleblowing cases 
and designing a system of evaluation of the 
whistleblowing mechanism.

BUDGET

€32

MILLION

444

REQUESTS RECEIVED
FOR SUPPORT WORTH
€152 MILLION

24

REQUESTING
COUNTRIES

146

SUCCESSFUL
REQUESTS

 18  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

Growth and business 
environment

POLAND

DEVELOPING INLAND
WATERWAY TRANSPORT

The SRSS is helping the Ministry of Maritime 
Economy and Inland Navigation to develop inland 
waterways and improve their links with the main 
EU transport corridors. The project informs people 
about the costs and benefits of proposals to 
upgrade a major inland waterway, boosting the 
Polish authorities’ capacity to formulate, develop 
and implement sound projects. It also involves 
drafting a communication strategy involving a 
wide array of stakeholders in Polish waterway 
transport reform, so the authorities can raise 
public awareness and build support for a bigger 
role for inland navigation in the transport sector.

Labour market, education, 
health & social services

AUSTRIA 

NATIONAL YOUTH
INTEGRATION STRATEGY
FOR MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

The SRSS is helping the Ministry of Families and 
Youth to design and implement a national strategy 
for integrating young migrants and refugees. It 
provides technical support for: (i) assessing the 
current situation (including selected good practices 
from other Member States, and data analysis); (ii) 
drafting a national strategy for integrating young 
people (including its validation through a series 
of workshops); (iii) implementing the national 
strategy (including support for monitoring and 
evaluation).

Requests selected for 
SRSP 2018 funding

(Per Member State)

4

5

7

10

7

6

17

1

1

1

1

4

3

5

5

5

8

7

7

7

8

7

6

14

AT

BE

BG

HR

CY

CZ

EE

FI

DE

EL

HU

IE

IT

LV

LT

LU

MT

PL

PT

RO

SK

SI

ES

SE

0

2

4

6

8

10 12 14 16

18 20

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  19

‘SRSP’s simple and flexible 
application process, and its clear 
procedures convinced us to apply. 
The dedicated support provided 
by SRSS and our joint focus on 
ensuring high quality results 
have matched our needs and 
expectations.’

—
Polish Ministry of Maritime 
Economy and Inland Navigation
Supporting the development of 
inland waterway transport in 
Poland

Revenue administration, 
tax policy and public 
financial management

FINLAND & SWEDEN 

COMBATING TAX FRAUD

The SRSS is helping the Finnish and Swedish 
tax administrations to strengthen their capacity 
to assess the corporate income tax (CIT) gap, 
namely the gap between corporate income tax 
revenues as they ‘should be’ collected and as they 
‘are’ collected. The support involves reviewing 
the CIT policy structure in place and transferring 
knowledge of the best estimation methodology to 
be used in terms of model structure and design, 
as well as estimating and analysing the gap. 

Financial sector 
& access to finance

ESTONIA 

SETTING UP
PRE-INSOLVENCY EARLY
WARNING MECHANISMS

Based on best international standards and 
practical use of such systems in other Member 
States, the SRSS is helping to set up pre-
insolvency early warning mechanisms and develop 
solutions for out-of-court settlements. The project 
should enable more effective reorganisation of 
viable businesses.

 20  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

Requests selected for 
SRSP 2018 funding
(per Area)

%
4
2

%
3
% 2
1
2

%
1
2

%
1
1

25

20

15

10

5

0

■  Financial sector 

& access to finance

■  Governance and public 

administration

■ Growth and business environment

■  Labour market, education, health 

& social services

■  Revenue administration, tax policy 
and public financial management

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  21

‘ With the support of the Commission’s Structural 
Reform Support Programme, Austria is improving 
its coordination efforts in the area of youth work, 
focusing on all actors involved in the integration 
process of young migrants and refugees into its 
society. Unbureaucratic procedures contribute to 
maximising project outcomes.’

—
Austrian Ministry of Family and Youth
National Youth Integration Strategy for Migrants 
and Refugees in Austria

SUPPORTING THE 
REUNIFICATION
OF CYPRUS

The SRSS is supporting the process linked to 
settlement talks under UN auspices, and overseeing 
the implementation of the Green Line Regulation 
and the Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot 
community. In the run-up to the Conference on 
Cyprus in July 2017, more than 200 Commission 
experts took part in more than 40 missions to 
present EU law and assess the level of its adoption 
by the Turkish Cypriot community.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME FOR
THE TURKISH CYPRIOT COMMUNITY

Each year, more than 100 Turkish Cypriots attend 
undergraduate or postgraduate courses, short-term 
courses or internships in other EU Member States. 
The scholarships’ success is shown by the rising 
number of applications.

BI-COMMUNAL TECHNICAL 
COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL HERITAGE

Support for the conservation of island-wide cultural 
heritage boosts trust and cooperation between the 
two communities. Recent examples include works 
on the Martinengo bastion and a cluster of churches 
in Famagusta; the Paphos Hammam; and the 
monastery of Agios Panteleimonas.

Examples

SUPPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE
ON MISSING PERSONS

The Committee on Missing Persons is carrying out 
world-renowned work to identify the remains of 
2 002 Cypriots who went missing during the inter-
communal fighting of 1963/64 and the events of 
1974, and return them to their families. To date, 
1 218 sets of remains have been exhumed, of 
which 885 have been genetically identified and 
returned to their families.

SUPPORTING 
THE MIGRATION 
MANAGEMENT
IN GREECE

Working closely with other relevant Commission 
departments and EU agencies, the SRSS supported 
the Greek authorities in managing the migration 
crisis between September 2015 and June 2018. 
In line with the personal mandate received from 
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in March 
2016, the Director-General of the SRSS oversaw 
the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement 
on migration, which focuses on reducing irregular 
migration via the Greek Aegean islands. The SRSS 
coordinated support from EU Member States and EU 
agencies and helped the Greek authorities build the 
capacity needed to manage migration flows.

Examples

REORGANISING THE ASYLUM
CHAIN IN GREECE

The SRSS provided legal advice on amending asylum 
laws, aiming at a fair but more efficient asylum and 
return process. It conducted an organisational review 
of all the steps in the asylum chain to maximise 
efficiency and improve resource allocation. The 
project produced standard operating procedures, 
templates, manuals and information material, 
allowing the Greek administration and EU agencies 
to work together smoothly. The SRSS also advised on 
information management, to increase transparency 
at every step of the process.

SUPPORTING THE RECEPTION
AND IDENTIFICATION SERVICE
OF THE MINISTRY OF MIGRATION 
POLICY TO MANAGE RECEPTION 
CONDITIONS AT THE HOTSPOTS

The SRSS helped the Reception and Identification 
Service to design and implement standard 
operational procedures in reception centres 
at hotspots on the Greek islands, and to draft 
information for arriving migrants and asylum 
applicants. Working closely with Commission 
departments, the SRSS helped the Reception 
and Identification Service to take measures to 
protect migrants in cold weather, provide rented 
accommodation for vulnerable asylum applicants 
and create extra, up-to-standard reception facilities 
for unaccompanied minors.

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  23

FOCUS STORY
SUPPORT FOR 
GREECE IN THE 
CONTEXT OF 
THE FINANCIAL 
CRISIS

‘ Since 2015 the Structural Reform Support 
Service has supported the Greek authorities 
with more than 140 structural reform projects, 
thus helping Greece successfully implement 
and exit its economic adjustment programme in 
August 2018.’

—
Secretary General for Coordination 
of the Greek government

•  the implementation of the country’s 

Anti-Corruption Action Plan, increasing 
integrity, ethics and transparency within the 
public administration and the judicial system;

•  a new framework for collection of assets 
for private debts (an electronic platform 
for auctions), allowing private claims to be 
settled without recourse to a court.

The SRSS’s technical support helped 
Greece carry out its reform commitments. 
Greece left the economic adjustment 
programme in August 2018.

SRSS will continue to support the Greek 
authorities in implementing reforms.

In July 2011, the Commission set up a special 
Task Force for Greece, at the request of the 
Greek authorities. The goal was to help the 
country make a series of reforms, which formed 
part of its financial package from the EU 
(‘economic adjustment programme’). The task 
force was also mandated to help the authorities 
more rapidly use EU funds that target 
competitiveness, growth and employment. This 
technical support continued from July 2015 
under the SRSS.

More than 140 projects have been started to 
boost administrative capacity to design, roll-
out and make a success of structural reforms. 
Examples include:

•  the launch of a national guaranteed 

minimum income (the social solidarity 
income), providing a safety net to households 
living in extreme poverty;

•  a new Independent Authority for Public 

Revenue, ensuring efficient collection of taxes;

•  a new investment licensing system for 

businesses, making it easier to set up and run 
a business;

•  policy recommendations for modernising 

the education system, ensuring that 
students are better equipped with skills and 
competencies to succeed in the 21st century;

•  the design of new out-of-court workout 

arrangements, providing the option of non-
judicial solutions to outstanding private and 
public debt claims;

 24  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

FOCUS STORY
SUPPORT FOR 
THE CAPITAL 
MARKETS 
UNION

The capital markets union is a European 
Commission plan to mobilise capital in Europe 
by creating deeper and more integrated 
capital markets. Since 2016, alongside the 
Commission’s EU-wide efforts, the SRSS has 
been supporting Member States with reforms 
that aim to develop their local capital markets 
and improve their integration across borders.

The SRSS adopts a country-specific three stage 
approach to supporting Member States with 
capital market development:

1. with the authorities, comprehensively 
analysing the current state of capital market 
development and identifying national 
impediments to further development;

2. where necessary, assisting with the 
development of arrangements to improve 
access to market infrastructure; and

3. supporting efforts to deepen and widen 
capital market access in a Member State.

Some 28 projects across 17 Member States 
have been supported so far. Notable examples 
include:

•  supporting Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in 
their efforts to create a pan-Baltic covered 
bond framework;

•  conducting a capital markets diagnostic in 
Italy to recommend improvements to SME 
access to finance;

•  evaluating impediments to the development of 

financial technology (‘fintech’) in Slovakia;

•  improving the regional connectivity of central 

securities depositories in Hungary;

•  working with the Croatian financial sector 

supervisor to upgrade risk-based supervision; 
and

•  supporting the setting-up of a national 

promotional bank in Romania.

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  25

CONVERGENCE 
FACILITY
 TECHNICAL 
SUPPORT 
INSTRUMENT
 REFORM 
DELIVERY TOOL 
BUDGET

25

20

15

OUTLOOK 
FOR THE SRSS 

Changes to the current programme 

As part of its plans to increase economic integration, 
in 2017 the Commission proposed to increase the 
budget for the Structural Reform Support Programme 
by €80 million for the period until 2020 and set 
up a work stream providing targeted support to 
countries seeking to join the euro.

This is in response to high demand from EU 
governments (requests for support significantly 
exceed the funding available) and to help countries 
achieve the high degree of economic convergence 
they need to adopt the euro.

A new programme after 2020

The Commission has proposed to expand the work 
of the SRSS after 2020 under a new Reform Support 
Programme, with a much bigger overall budget of 
€25 billion.

The proposed programme would have three strands.

10

•  Reform delivery tool — €22 billion 

Financial incentives for governments to implement 
the key economic policy recommendations made 
every year by the Commission as part of the 
‘European Semester’.

•  Technical support instrument — just under 

€1 billion  
Continued help for governments to design 
and implement reforms and optimise their 
administrative capacity.

•  Convergence facility — just over €2 billion  

Financial and technical support to those countries 
that have taken demonstrable steps towards 
joining the euro.

 26  I  3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  

5

0

SRSS CONTACT 
DETAILS

Main contact point for national governments:

•  Maarten Verwey, Director General SRSS
•  Mary McCarthy, Director SRSS

SRSS@ec.europa.eu

Further details on our work:

•  Governance and public administration: SRSS-02-GOVERNANCE-PUBLIC-ADMINISTRATION@ec.europa.eu

•  Revenue administration and public financial management: SRSS-TAX-PFM@ec.europa.eu

•  Growth and business environment: SRSS-GROWTH-BUSINESS-ENVIRONMENT@ec.europa.eu

•  Labour market, health and social services: SRSS-04-LABOUR-MARKET-HEALTH-AND-SOCIAL-SERVICES@
ec.europa.eu

•  Financial sector and access to finance: SRSS-FINANCIAL@ec.europa.eu

•  Adviser on Anti-Money-Laundering and Anti-Corruption strategies: SRSS-AML-AC@ec.europa.eu

•  SRSS office in Greece: SRSS-Athens@ec.europa.eu 

•  Cyprus Settlement Support: SRSS-CYPRUS-SETTLEMENT-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu

Other areas:

Structural Reform Support Programme: SRSS-SRSP@ec.europa.eu

Find out more:

•  Structural Reform Support Service: 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/structural-reform-support-service_en

•  Structural Reform Support Programme: 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/overview-funding-programmes/structural-reform-
support-programme-srsp_en

3 YEARS REPORT SRSS  I  27

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ISBN 978-92-79-90383-7