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 the 2019 Structural Reform Support Programme
Date: 2021-10-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU aid, EU financing, EU programme, administrative reform, economic convergence, economic reform, institutional reform, structural adjustment, sustainable development

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.10.2021  SWD(2021) 283 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 the 2019 Structural Reform Support Programme {COM(2021) 622 final}  
 
 
GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................................... 2 

Table of Contents 

1. 

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 3 

2. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ................................................................................................... 4 

2.1.  Budget of the programme ........................................................................................................ 4 

2.2.  Objectives and scope of the programme ................................................................................. 4 

2.3. 

European added value ............................................................................................................. 5 

2.4. 

Implementation of the programme and forms of support ........................................................ 5 

2.5.  Data collection ......................................................................................................................... 6 

3. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF SUPPORT MEASURES FUNDED BY SRSP 2019 BUDGET .......... 7 

3.1. 

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 7 

3.2.  Requests for support submitted by the Member States ........................................................... 7 

3.3.  Application of the assessment criteria ................................................................................... 10 

3.3.1. 

Step 1 – screening and analysis of the requests for support .......................................... 10 

3.3.2. 

Step 2 – prioritisation of the requests for support ......................................................... 14 

3.4. 

Selection of requests .............................................................................................................. 14 

3.5.  Cooperation and support plans .............................................................................................. 16 

3.6.  Reform partners and special measures .................................................................................. 17 

3.7. 

Implementation of support measures..................................................................................... 18 

4. 

PROGRESS IN RELATION TO THE PROGRAMME’S OBJECTIVES .................................. 26 

4.1. 

Progress in achieving the general objective .......................................................................... 28 

4.2. 

Progress in achieving the specific objectives ........................................................................ 30 

4.3. 

Expected outcomes of SRSP activities .................................................................................. 30 

4.4. 

European added value ........................................................................................................... 30 

5.  DELIVERED SUPPORT MEASURES UNDER THE PROGRAMME ...................................... 32 

6.  CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 36 

ANNEX I ...................................................................................................................................................... 37 

LIST OF SUPPORT MEASURES IMPLEMENTED UNDER SRSP 2019 .......................................... 37 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GLOSSARY 

Meaning or definition 

Appel à manifestation d'intérêt (call for expressions of interest) 

capital markets union 

cooperation and support plan 

Country-Specific Recommendations 

Term or 
acronym 

AMI 

CMU 

CSP 

CSR 

DG REFORM 

European Commission Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support 

EBRD 

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 

EFSI 

ESIF 

EU 

PPP 

SMEs 

SRSP  

SRSS 

European Fund for Strategic Investments 

European Structural and Investment Funds  

European Union 

public private partnerships 

small and medium-sized enterprises 

Structural Reform Support Programme 

Structural Reform Support Service 

TAIEX 

Technical Assistance and Information Exchange 

EU Member States acronyms 

AT  Austria 

ES  Spain 

BG  Bulgaria 

FI 

Finland 

LV  Latvia 

MT  Malta 

BE  Belgium 

FR  France 

NL  The Netherlands 

CY  Cyprus 

HR  Croatia 

PL 

Poland 

CZ  Czech Republic 

HU  Hungary 

PT 

Portugal 

DE  Germany 

IE 

Ireland 

RO  Romania 

DK  Denmark 

IT 

Italy 

SE 

Sweden 

EE 

Estonia 

LT  Lithuania 

SI 

Slovenia 

EL  Greece 

LU  Luxembourg 

SK 

Slovakia 

2 

 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

Effective  implementation  of  structural  reforms,  timely  and  adequate  transposition  and 
implementation  of  the  Union  acquis,  as  well  as  efficient  and  effective  use  of  the  European 
Union  funds  are  vital  for  encouraging  investment,  unlocking  the  growth  potential,  raising 
living standards and supporting the process of resilience and convergence in the EU. Without 
growth-enhancing reforms, economies stagnate and decline.  

At  the  same  time,  overall  successful  implementation  of  reforms  requires  efficient  and 
effective  public  administration,  since  this  affects  the  performance  of  all  public  policy 
domains. For this reason, adequate administrative capacity (notably in terms of competences, 
mobility, incentives and changes to work processes) is crucial for well-functioning economies 
and to underpin the success of structural reforms. 

The  Structural  Reform  Support  Programme  (SRSP),  established  in  May  2017,  covers  the 
2017- 2020 period1. Its objective is to strengthen the Member States’ capacity to prepare and 
implement growth-enhancing reforms, including by providing assistance for the efficient and 
effective use of Union funds. The final decisions on the design, structure and implementation 
of reforms lie with the Member States, however. Support from the SRSP is available to all EU 
Member  States  upon  request2,  requires  no  co-financing  and  involves  a  relatively  small 
administrative burden for Member States. It is managed by the Commission’s DG REFORM 
(previous Structural Reform Support Service). 

The  Commission  monitors  how  support  measures  financed  by  the  programme  are 
implemented  and  provides  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  with  an  annual 
monitoring report3 for each year of implementation.  

This  report  provides  an  overview  of  the  implementation  of  measures  selected  for  funding 
under  the  2019  SRSP  round.  In  addition,  section  5  of  the  report  (progress  in  relation  to  the 
programme’s  objectives)  describes  the  progress  of  some  measures  selected  for  financing 
under  the  2017  and  2018  SRSP  rounds  and  covered  by  the  previous  annual  monitoring 
reports. 

1 Under Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council, OJ L 129, 19.5.2017, p. 1–16, as amended 
by Regulation (EU) 2018/1671, OJ L 284, 12.11.2018, p. 3–5 (the SRSP Regulation). 
2 Article 7 of the SRSP Regulation. 
3 Article 16 of the SRSP Regulation. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
[…] 

Article 16 of the 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) 
b) 

requests for support submitted by Member States, referred to in Article 7(1); 
analyses  of  the  application  of  the  criteria,  referred  to  in  Article  7(2),  used  to 
analyse the requests for support submitted by Member States; 
cooperation and support plans, referred to in Article 7(2); 
participation of reform partners, referred to in Article 9; 
special measures adopted, referred to in Article 13(6); and 
implementation of support measures4. 

c) 
d) 
e) 
f) 

2.  BACKGROUND INFORMATION 

2.1.  Budget of the programme 

The  budget  for  the  implementation  of  the  Programme  over  the  2017-2020  period  is  €222.8 
million  (following  the  amendment  to  the  original  SRSP  Regulation)5.  The  budget  available 
for 2019 was €79.3 million6. 

In addition to the SRSP budget, Article 11 of the SRSP Regulation and Article 25 and 59 of 
Regulation  (EU)  No  1303/2013  (the  Common  Provisions  Regulation)  also  enable  the 
programme  to  be  financed  through  additional  voluntary  contributions  from  Member  States, 
using resources provided for technical assistance at the initiative of the Member States under 
the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds). In 2019, no Member States made 
voluntary transfers to the SRSP. The overall budget for 2019 thus remained €79.3 million. 

2.2.  Objectives and scope of the programme 

The  general  objective  of  the  SRSP  is  to  contribute  to  institutional,  administrative  and 
growth-sustaining  structural  reforms  in  the  Member  States7.  This  is  achieved  by  providing 
support  to  national  authorities  with  the  aim  of  reforming  and  strengthening  institutions, 
governance, public administration, and economic and social sectors in response to economic 
and social challenges.  

The  overarching  goal  is  to  enhance  cohesion,  competitiveness,  productivity,  sustainable 
growth,  job  creation,  and  investment  and  social  inclusion  and  to  contributing  to  real 
convergence  in  the  Union,  which  may  also  prepare  for  participation  in  the  euro  area,  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 programme8 are to:  

4 Point (f) of Article 16 was added by Regulation (EU) 2018/1671, amending Regulation (EU) 2017/825 (see below). 
5 Regulation (EU) 2017/825, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2018/1671.  
6 Excluding support expenditure. 
7 Article 4 of the SRSP Regulation. 
8 Article 5 of the SRSP Regulation. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
a)  support the intiatitives of Member States’ national authorities to design their reforms 

according to their priorities;  

b)  enhance the national authorities’ capacity to formulate, develop and implement reform 

policies and strategies and pursue an integrated approach; 

c)  support  the  efforts  of  national  authorities  to  define  and  implement  appropriate 

processes and methodologies; and 

d)  assist the national authorities in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of human 

resources management. 

In addition, with a view to pursuing the general and specific objectives, the Programme could 
finance actions and activities also in support of reforms that may help Members States in their 
preparation to join the euro area. 

The  support  therefore  covers  all  stages  of  reform,  from  inception  to  implementation  and 
evaluation of results. 
Support can be provided for reforms which fall under the following main broad policy areas9:  

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 

The  Commission  should  ensure  that  actions  and  activities  selected  for  funding  are  likely  to 
produce results that show a clear European added value10. 

European added value is ensured 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.  

9 For the full list, please refer to Article 5(2) of the SRSP Regulation. 
10 Article 3 of the SRSP Regulation. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
In concrete terms, the technical support can take the form of11: 

 

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; 

  actions  to  help  address  specific  needs  –  diagnostic  analyses,  recommendations  on 
how to address the situation, a strategy, draft of a new law/act or modification of an 
existing one; proposals for (new) working and organisational procedures; and/or  
  wider  actions  that  increase  administrative  capacity  –  seminars,  training,  working 
visits,  development  of  methodologies,  collection  of  data,  establishment  of 
benchmarks, etc.  

2.5.  Data collection  

All  data  on  the  implementation  of  the  SRSP  is  stored  by  the  European  Commission  in  an 
internal IT tool managed by DG REFORM. The tool facilitates monitoring and reporting on 
the implementation of SRSP projects. It has provided data for this report. 

11 Article 6 of the SRSP Regulation. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
3.  IMPLEMENTATION OF SUPPORT MEASURES FUNDED BY SRSP 2019 BUDGET 

3.1. 

Introduction  

2019 was the third year of activities under the SRSP12. As indicated previously, the budget for 
support measures in 2019 amounted to €79.3 million, available to all EU Member States. On 
27 February 2019, the Commission adopted the annual work programme for the SRSP 201913, 
setting  out  priorities  for  the  year,  objectives,  expected  results  and  outlined  actions  to  be 
implemented. The annual work programme for 2019 was sent to the European Parliament and 
the Council on 30 April 201914. The focus of this report is the support measures selected for 
funding in 2019, and it also covers the implementation of support measures selected in 2017 
and 201815. 

3.2.  Requests for support submitted by the Member States 

Member States were invited to submit their requests for support by 31 October 201816, and to 
provide information on the following elements:  

a)  problem/need to be addressed by 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 their requests for support, Member States also identified the relevant circumstances17 under 
which they were submitting 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 
in  particular  of  European  Semester  country-specific 

governance  processes, 
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  authorities18,  i.e.  authorities  responsible  for  submitting  requests  on 
behalf of a Member State.  

12  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. 
13  Commission  Implementing  Decision  on  the  financing  of  Structural  Reform  Support Programme  and  the  adoption  of  the 
work programme for 2019, 2019, C(2019) 1542 final. 
14 Article 13(5) of the SRSP Regulation. 
15 The implementation period covered by this report (of the support measures selected for funding in 2017, 2018 and 2019) is 
31 August 2017 - 31 January 2021. 
16 Article 7(1) of the SRSP Regulation. 
17 Article 7(3) of the SRSP Regulation. 
18  The  role  of  the  coordinating  authorities  is  defined  in  section  18.2  of  the  cooperation  and  support  plans  signed  with  all 
Member States benefiting from the programme. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Each coordinating authority was invited to prioritise requests for its Member State, but not all 
of them did so in 2019. The requests for support could come from the national authorities of 
the  Member  States,  i.e.  authorities  at  central,  regional  or  local  level,  or  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  with  the  Commission,  Member 
States designate a coordinating authority to act as the interlocutor of the DG REFORM 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, and for coordinating the effective implementation of 
the measures envisaged and 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 2019 selection round, 580 requests for support were submitted by 27 EU Member 
States  (including  1  request  submitted  by  the  UK,  which  was  an  EU  Member  State  at  that 
time)  for  an  estimated  amount19  that  was  almost  2.5  times  the  available  2019  SRSP 
budget  (€194  million;  as  compared  to  the  available  budget  for  the  SRSP  2019  of  €79.3 
million). The chart below shows the number of requests submitted per Member State, and a 
comparison with the previous round. 

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

SRSP2017 0 15 0 19 16 0
SRSP2018 12 12 11 53 19 1
SRSP2019 16 17 17 39 26 8

AT BG BE CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HR HU IE IT LT LU LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI SK UK
0 11 18 0 12 18 0 18 4 32 0 24 22 0

1 22 0

5 34 0

0

0

0 10 14 30 1

0 40 6

8 15 21 1 28 19 0 43 12 60 1 12 15 0

0

9 33 46 6

7 44 19 17 33 36 2 28 31 3 40 24 37 3 21 17 1

Figure 1: Number of requests submitted for funding under the SRSP 2017 – 2019 rounds, per Member State 

19 As estimated by the Member States. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
More Member States participated in the Programme in 2019 than under the 2018 SRSP, and 
the  total  number  of  submitted  requests  was  higher.  The  distribution  of  requests  across  the 
main broad policy areas was as follows: 

26%

27%

23%

14%

10%

Financial Sector
and Access to
Finance

Governance and
Public
Administration

Growth and
Business
Environment

Labour Market,
Education,
Health and
Social Services

Revenue
Administration
and Public
Financial
Management

Figure 2: Number of requests submitted by Member States under SRSP 2019 – split per main broad policy area (in 
percentages 

By comparison, the highest number of requests submitted under SRSP 2018 were in the area 
of growth and business environment (32%) and governance and public administration (26%). 
For  SRSP  2019,  there  was  a  significant  increase  in  the  area  of  labour  market,  education, 
health  and  social  services  (27%),  closely  followed  by  growth  and  business  environment 
(26%). 

More than one third of the requests submitted by the Member States for the SRSP 2019 round 
related  to  the  EU  economic  governance  process.  27%  of  the  requests  concerned  the 
implementation  of Union priorites, and also  27% concerned the implementation of Member 
States’  own  priorities.  The  remaining  requests  were  related  to  the  implementation  of  Union 
law  (e.g.  infringements)  with  6%,  and  the  implementation  of  economic  adjustment 
programmes.  

The chart below shows the distribution by category. 

39%

27%

6%

1%

27%

Implementation of Economic
adjustment programmes

Implementation of Member States’ 
own reform priorities

Implementation of Union law (e.g.
infringements)

Implementation of Union priorities
(e.g. CMU, Energy Union,
Customs Union, etc.)

Reforms in the context of
economic governance process (e.g.
CSR, Country reports, etc.)

Figure 3: Number of requests submitted by Member States – split according to circumstances 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Under  the  SRSP  2017  and  2018  rounds,  the  majority  of  the  requests  also  concerned 
challenges related to the EU economic governance process (38% and 30% respectively), but 
under SRSP 2019 the share of these types of requests increased even further (39%)  

3.3.  Application of the assessment criteria 

The Commission’s assessment of submitted requests was based on two sets of elements20:  

  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 to avoid duplication of 
efforts and overlaps with several Union funds/programmes (in particular the ESI Funds). The 
process (including the broad consultation with other Commission services which fed into the 
assessment) resulted in the steps described below: 

Consultation 

Screening

Analysis

Prioritisation

Selection

3.3.1.  Step 1 – screening and analysis of the requests for support 

Screening 

Prior to  assessing the requests submitted under the SRSP 2019 round, 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  (see  Article  6)  such  as  the  purchase  of  equipment,  provision  of  IT 
software,  budget  support  measures,  measures  consisting  of  paying  for  running  costs,  etc., 
were excluded from further assessment.  

20 In accordance with Article 7(2) of the SRSP Regulation. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
As  a  result  of  the  first  screening,  1%  (6  requests)  were  excluded,  and  99%  (574  requests) 
proceeded to further analysis (eligible requests).  

Analysis of the requests for support 

Following the exclusion of ineligible and withdrawn requests, the purpose of the analysis was 
to identify the requests that merited 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  of  the  EU  financial  management 
rules (transparency, equal treatment and sound financial management) were applied.  

Transparency:  

The  Commission  maintained  a  dialogue  with  the  Member  States  prior  to  the  submission  of 
their requests. This allowed clarifications to be provided and the Member States’ requests to 
be refined, and adequate feedback on the assessment process after selection, in particular for 
requests which had not been selected.  

Equal treatment:  

The  Commission  applied  the  assessment  criteria  equally  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). 

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  based  on  quality, 
focus and expected results of eligible submitted requests. 

B. Assessment criteria 
The assessment criteria21 were applied in the following way: 

i.  Urgency of the request 

The  Commission  assessed  the  urgency  of  a  request,  as  initially  presented  by  the  Member 
State. It also took account of 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,  capital  markets  union  (CMU),  energy  union, 
digital single market, etc.). 

21 Defined in Article 7(2) of the SRSP Regulation. 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
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 account of 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, where 
known. 

iii. 

Support needs in respect of the policy areas concerned 

The Commission analysed support needs, as described in the requests by the Member States. 
It also took account of the following elements: 

  at which stage of the reform process the support would be required (the design phase 
or  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. ESI Funds) programmes). 

iv. 

Socio-economic indicators 

The  Commission  took  account  of  relevant  socio-economic  indicators  (as  they  had  been 
described  by  the  Member  States  in  their  requests  for  support,  or  in  another  manner  as 
appropriate) to support the assessment22. 

v.  General administrative capacity of the Member State 

The  Commission  also  assessed  the  capacity  of  the  Member  State  (i.e.  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 particularly 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  that  was  considered  eligible  received  rating  scores  (A  to  C)  that 
evaluated how well the assessment criteria and the principle of sound financial management 
were  fulfilled.  Scores  were  attributed  for  each  of  the  following  criteria:  (i)  urgency  of  the 

22 These socio-economic indicators may be macro-economic indicators, general indicators or indicators related to the policy 
area concerned, such as unemployment rate, number of early education leavers, number of people in or at risk of poverty and 
social exclusion, investment rates, non-performing loans rates, etc. 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
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,  (v) 
maturity, (vi) focus and (vii) expected results of the requested support measures. 

- requests with only high and medium scores and a majority of high scores fell into the 
category high scores (at least 4 As, no Cs) 

- requests with only high and medium scores and a majority of medium scores fell into the 
category medium scores (at least 4 Bs, no Cs) 

- requests with one low score fell into the category one major weakness (at least 1 C)  

- requests with more than one low score and medium scores for the rest fell into the category 
several major weaknesses (more than 1 C) 

62.4%  of  the  574  requests  analysed  in  the  SRSP  2019  round  received  high  scores,  13.4% 
medium  scores,  and  around  12%  had  either  one  major  weakness,  or  several  major 
weaknesses. The chart below shows the breakdown in percentages: 

12.2%

12%

High scores

Medium scores

13.4%

62.4%

One major weakness

Several major
weaknesses

Figure 4: Requests by rating category 

Compared to the SRSP 2018 round, there have been some notable changes. The percentage of 
requests  rated  with  high  scores  increased  from  58%  to  62.4%.  At  the  same  time,  the 
percentage of requests with several major weaknesses decreased from 17% to 12.2%. These 
changes seem to reflect an improved quality of the requests submitted by Member States.  

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. 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.3.2.  Step 2 – prioritisation of the requests for support 

The results of the screening and analysis stage were used to select requests for funding under 
the  budget  of  the  SRSP  2019  cycle  (€79.3  million  available,  and  €194  million  in  requests 
received).  

The  requests  were  prioritised  based  on  the  principle  of  sound  financial  management  (in 
particular taking into account their maturity, focus and expected results). 

Without undermining the assessment criteria, the following aspects have also been considered 
and the priority has been 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  574  eligible  requests  for  technical  support,  263 
requests  from  26  Member  States  were  selected  for  funding  under  the  available  SRSP  2019 
budget of €79.3 million. The distribution of selected requests by Member State was as shown 
below. 

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

SRSP 2017 0
SRSP 2018 4
SRSP 2019 7

AT BG BE CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HR HU IE IT LT LU LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI SK
7
0

0 14 10

0 10 13

4 15

1 13

0 13

9 18

0 11

9

0

0

3

0

9

0

0

5

7 10

7

8 15

8 10

1

2

0

0

6

4

6

8 18 16

1

3

0 17

3

5

8

5

1

7

7

0

7

5 14

1

7

8

7 18

7 10 19 14

2 14 10

3 16 11 12

2 12 11

Figure 5: Number of requests selected for funding under the 2017 – 2019 SRSP rounds, per Member State 

With an increase in the budget from €20.5 million in the 2017 SRSP, to €30.5 million in the 
2018 SRSP, and further to  €79.3 in the SRSP 2019, the overall number of requests selected 
for  funding  under  SRSP  2019  was  higher  than  under  the  previous  SRSP  rounds,  and  also 
distributed across more Member States (26). 

The distribution across the main broad policy areas was as shown below: 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23%

27%

17%

18%

15%

Financial Sector and
Access to Finance

Governance and
Public
Administration

Growth and
Business
Environment

Labour Market,
Education, Health
and Social Services

Revenue
Administration and
Public Financial
Management

Figure  6:  Number  of  requests  selected  for  funding  under  SRSP  2019  –  split  per  main  broad  policy  area  (in 
percentages) 

By  comparison,  the  highest  number  of  requests  selected  for  funding  under  the  SRSP  2018 
were in  revenue administration and public financial management (24%). Under SRSP 2019, 
this category had the lowest number of requests (15%). 

Also,  in  the  area  of  governance  and  public  administration  the  share  of  selected  requests 
decreases  from  21%  to  18%  under  SRSP  2019.  Moreover,  there  have  been  a  significative 
increase  in  the  number  of  requests  selected  for  funding  in  the  area  of  labour  market, 
education, health and social services (from 21% to 27%), as well as in the financial sector and 
access to finance (from 11% to 17%).  

The  following  chart  shows  the  breakdown  of  the  request  selected  under  the  SRSP  2019 
budget  and  split  according  to  relevant  circumstances.  As  part  of  the  EU’s  economic 
governance process, 4% (9 requests) were related to the preparation for euro area accession.  

4%

8%

5%

21%

62%

Implementation of Economic adjustment
programmes

Implementation of Member States’ own 
reform priorities

Implementation of Union law (e.g.
infringements)

Implementation of Union priorities (e.g.
CMU, Energy Union, Customs Union, etc.)

Reforms in the context of economic
governance process (e.g. CSR, Country
reports, etc.)

Figure  7:  Number  of  requests  selected  under  SRSP  2019  –  split  according  to  circumstances  of  the  request  (in 
percentages) 

93.4% of requests selected for funding under SRSP 2019 round were given high scores. The 
chart below shows the distribution of the scores of the selected requests. 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.3%

3.3%

93.4%

High scores

Medium scores

One major weakness

Figure 8: Rating of requests selected for funding under SRSP 201923 

By  way  of  comparison,  97%  of  requests  selected  for  funding  under  SRSP  2018  were  given 
high scores. 

3.5.  Cooperation and support plans 

Once  the  requests  for  support  had  been  selected,  the  Commission  concluded  a  cooperation 
and support plan24 with each Member State benefiting from the programme. 

Cooperation and support plans 

Member States and the Commission work closely together to carry out actions financed under 
the SRSP. After a Member State submits its request for support, the coordinating authority of 
the requesting Member  State and the Commission  agree on the priorities  and 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 Member States requesting support from the SRSP.  

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 contribution  is  only indicative). However, 
through this document, the Commission and the Member States express their commitment to 
engage in  the implementation of the support measures25. Subject  to  consent  by the Member 
States, the CSPs are transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council. 

In 2019, 26 cooperation and support plans were concluded between the Commission and the 
Member States. They were sent to the European Parliament and the Council on 30 April 2019, 
in line with Article 8 of the SRSP Regulation. 

23  When  lower-scored  requests  (one  or  several  major  weaknesses)  were  selected,  it  was  because  of  the  importance  of  the 
reform and relative urgency in that particular country. 
24 Article 7 of the SRSP Regulation. 
25 The content of the CSPs is further defined in section 18.2 and in part VII of the cooperation and support plans. 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Country 

Indicative timeline of delivery of 
support measures 

Estimated global 
contribution26 

Austria 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Croatia 

Cyprus 

Q2 2019 – Q4 2022 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2021 

Q1 2018 – Q3 2021 

Q2 2019 – Q1 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2021 

Czech Republic 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2021 

Estonia 

Finland 

France 

Germany 

Greece 

Hungary 

Ireland 

Italy 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

Spain 

Sweden 

Q2 2019 – Q4 2020 

Q2 2019 – Q4 2020 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2022 

Q2 2019 – Q3 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2022 

Q1 2019 – Q3 2020 

Q2 2019 – Q4 2020 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2021 

Q3 2017 – Q2 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2021 

Q2 2019 – Q2 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q1 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q3 2020 

Q2 2019 – Q2 2022 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q1 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q1 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2021 

Q1 2019 – Q2 2021 

Q3 2018 – Q1 2021 

€2,103,850 

€2,602,450 

€4,185,000  

€4,935,000 

€2,770,000 

€2,901,000 

€2,626,000 

€1,330,000 

€2,872,560 

€830,000 

€5,040,500 

€1,610,000 

€3,120,000 

€6,788,000 

€3,858,560 

€3,385,000 

€600,000 

€2,698,000 

€577,500 

€5,080,000 

€3,752,500 

€3,950,000 

€3,020,000 

€3,280,000 

€5,336,400 

€400,000 

3.6.  Reform partners and special measures 

In  coordination  with  the  Commission,  the  beneficiary  Member  State  may  enter  into 
partnership  with  one  or  more  other  Member  States  which  will  act  as  reform  partners  to 

26  The  estimated  global  contribution  per  Member  State  is  purely  indicative.  The  final  amounts  depend  on  how  contracts, 
withdrawals, cancellations, etc, develop. 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
support specific areas of reform27. In 2019, none of the requesting Member States entered into 
such a partnership. 
Every year, a limited part of annual work programme is earmarked for special measures28 in 
the  event  of  unforeseen  and  duly  justified  grounds  of  urgency  requiring  an  immediate 
response for a maximum period of 6 months. In 2019, none of the requesting Member States 
requested support under special measures. 

3.7. 

 Implementation of support measures 

The  263  selected  requests  resulted  in  259  projects  (some  selected  requests  were  later 
withdrawn by Member  States and some were merged  for implementation purposes into one 
project).  The  259  support  measures  are  listed  in  Annex  I.  The  distribution  of  support 
measures/projects per Member State and per policy area is shown in the table below.29  

25

20

15

10

5

0

SRSP 2017 0
SRSP 2018 4
SRSP 2019 7

AT BG BE CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HR HU IE IT LT LU LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI SK
9 14 0 10 13 0 11 4 13 0 12 5

9 10 0

1 14 0

9

0

0

3

9

0

0

0

5

7 12 6

8 13 8

9

1

2

0

0

5

4

6

0

0 12 3

5

7

5

1

7

7

0

6

5 13 1

7

8

7 15 16 3

6 20 8

9 18 14 2 15 9

3 17 12 14 2 12 10

Figure 9: Number of projects implemented on the ground under SRSP 2017 – 2019, per Member State 

27 Article 9 of the SRSP Regulation 
28 Article 13(6) of the SRSP Regulation. 
29 The data presented in the table below are based on the updated information as of [31 November 2020]. The changes, as 
compared  with  the  Annual  Monitoring  Reports  for  the  previous  years  of  SRSP  implementation,  occurred  in  the  overall 
number of technical support projects due to various reasons – withdrawal of requests by Member States, merging of projects 
for implementation purposes, etc. 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
By 31 January 2021, 20% of the reform support projects under SRSP 2019 had already been 
completed and 80% continued to be implemented on the ground.  

20%

80%

On the ground

Completed

Figure 10: State of play SRSP 2019 project implementation 

The distribution of projects across the main broad policy areas is illustrated in the chart below:  

27%

24%

17%

16%

16%

Governance and Public
Administration

Growth and Business
Environment

Labour Market,
Education, Health and
Social Services

Revenue
Administration and
Public Financial
Management

Financial Sector and
Access to Finance

Figure 11: Projects by main broad policy area 

Under SRSP 2019, the highest number of approved projects were in the area of labour market, 
education, heath and social services (27 %) and growth and business environment (24%). 

The breakdown of specific actions (measures funded by the SRSP 2019 budget) supported in 
each policy area and each Member State is described in the chart below. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Governance  and  public 
administration  

Growth  and  business 
environment  

The  SRSP  provides  support  measures  in  22  Member  States  in 
the  fields  of  overall  public  administration,  procurement,  e-
Government/Digital  Public  Administration,  the  functioning  of 
the  justice  system,  the  fight  against  fraud,  and  corruption  and 
money  laundering.  Certain  measures  could  contribute  to  a 
better implementation of Union funds and programmes. 

The SRSP provides support measures in 23 Member States, in 
particular  in  the  fields  of  investment  climate,  management  of 
natural  resources  and  resource  efficiency,  and  the  Energy 
Union.  

market, 
Labour 
education,  health  and 
social services 

The  SRSP  provides  support  measures  in  23  Member  States,  n 
particular in the fields of healthcare systems, education, training 
and research, labour markets and social policies, migration and 
social welfare systems. 

Revenue administration 
and  public 
financial 
management  

Financial 
access to finance 

sector  and 

The SRSP provides support measures in 22 Member States, in 
particular  in  relation  to  revenue  administration,  tax  policy, 
budget 
budget 
implementation and transition towards accrual accounting, and 
fiscal framework. 

preparation 

spending 

reviews, 

and 

The SRSP provides support measures in 16 Member States, in 
particular  in  the  fields  of  capitalmarket  diagnostics  and 
insolvency  and 
strategies,  capital  market  development, 
nonperforming 
reinforcing 
financial stability. 

literacy  and 

financial 

loans, 

The largest proportion of support measures selected under the SRSP 2019 round and currently 
being implemented concern the following sectors/actions (see the figure below and Annex II 
for more details): 

  Digital public administration (12.4%); 
  Education and training (8.1%); 
  Healthcare system (7.7%); 
  Social protection and social services (6.6%); 
  Capital markets union (6.2%); 
  Governance (6.2%). 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Management of EU funds
Investment management and PPPs
Innovation
Debt and cash management
Customs union
Small and medium-sized enterprise policy
Public finances oversight
Modelling, analysis and assessments
Financial literacy
Administration of revenues
State-owned enterprise management
Public procurement
None
Migration and border management
Insurance and pensions
Competition issues
Management of human resources
Macrofiscal framework
Digitalisation of revenue administration
Budget preparation and implementation
Anti-corruption / Anti-money-laundering
Aggressive tax planning, tax fraud and evasion
Tax compliance
Expenditure policy
Central and local administration
Public accounting and statistics
Digital economy
Better regulation, licensing, permits and inspection
Bank supervision and resolution
Other

0,4%
0,4%
0,4%
0,4%
0,4%
0,8%
0,8%
0,8%
0,8%
0,8%
1,2%
1,2%
1,2%
1,2%
1,2%
1,2%
1,5%
1,5%
1,5%
1,5%
1,5%
1,5%

1,9%
1,9%
1,9%

2,3%
2,3%
2,3%
2,3%

2,7%

Sectoral expertise (transport, logistics, tourism, agriculture,…

Insolvency
Climate
Better regulation
Labour market and employment
Judicial reform
Tax policy
Access to finance

Environment, circular economy, land registry and spacial…

Energy
Governance
Capital Markets Union
Social protection and social services
Healthcare system
Education and training
Digital public administration

3,1%
3,1%
3,1%
3,1%

3,5%
3,5%

3,9%
3,9%

5,0%
5,0%

6,2%
6,2%

6,6%

7,7%

8,1%

12,4%

Figure 12: Sectors / actions covered by the support measures 

259 different authorities were recipients of support measures funded under SRSP 2019.  

The type of beneficiary authority receiving support is shown in the chart below. 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
  
6%

3%

10%

17%

5%

58%

Central government

Ministry

Other public bodies

Public agency

Regional/Local authority

Regulatory authority

Figure 2: Type of beneficiary authority receiving support measures under SRSP 2019 

The distribution of beneficiary authorities in each Member State is shown by type in the table 
below.  

Member 
State 

AT 
BG 
BE 
CY 
CZ 
DE 
DK 
EE 
EL 
ES 
FI 
FR 
HR 
HU 
IE 
IT 
LT 
LU 
LV 
MT 
NL 
PL 
PT 
RO 
SE 

Central 
government/ 
Ministry 
5 
8 
3 
6 
8 

6 
13 
9 
1 
4 
15 
7 
4 
14 
12 
1 
10 
5 
3 
13 
5 
7 

Type of beneficiary authority 

Public 
agency 

Regulatory 
authority 

Regional / 
Local 
authority 

Other public 
bodies 

Total 

2 

5 

1 

1 
1 
2 
2 
1 

3 
3 
1 
1 
4 
2 

2 
5 
4 
2 

1 
1 
1 

1 
1 

1 
3 

1 
1 
1 

1 

1 
2 

22 

4 

1 

1 

1 
1 

3 

2 
1 
1 

1 
1 

2 

1 

7 
8 
13 
8 
9 
2 
0 
7 
15 
16 
3 
6 
20 
8 
9 
18 
14 
2 
15 
9 
3 
17 
12 
14 
2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SI 
SK 
Total 

9 
7 
175 

1 
2 
45 

2 
1 
17 

8 

14 

12 
10 
259 

Means of implementation 

The programme’s support measures can be implemented either directly by the Commission or 
indirectly  by  entities  and  persons  other  than  Member  States30.  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, contributions to trust funds set up by international organisations, and actions carried 
out in indirect management. 

By  31  January  2021,  the  SRSP  2019  budget  of  €79.3  million  was  being  implemented  as 
follows.  

47%

1%

34%

18%

Grants

 Indirect management

Public procurement

Administrative arrangement

Figure 3: Breakdown of the means of implementing projects under the SRSP 2019 budget (% of budget)31 

30 Article 13 of the SRSP Regulation. 
31 Values based on contracted amounts. 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Grants 

By  31  January  2021  (referring  here  only  to  projects  selected  for  funding  under  the  2019 
round),  the  majority  of  grants  being  implemented32  were  awarded  to  international 
organisations (41%) and public law bodies (26%).  

11%

12%

26%

10%

Bodies governed by private law
with a public service mission

Government bodies

International Organisation

41%

NGO

Public law bodies

Figure 4: Types of technical support providers implementing grants in SRSP 2019 round 

Public procurement and TAIEX 

By 31 January 2021 (referring only to projects selected for funding under the 2019 round), the 
highest  proportion  of  procurements  were  specific  contracts  based  on  framework  contracts 
(88%) followed by direct procurement contracts for services (8%).  

2%  of  the  2019  funding  has  been  implemented  through  a  Service  Level  Agreement  entered 
into with  DG NEAR  to  utilise the TAIEX33 instrument  under a programme entitled TAIEX 
SRSP  Peer  to  Peer,  which  provided  for  expert  exchange  between  Member  States' 
administrations, 1% through simplified expert contracts for private sector experts (AMI list) 
and 1% through open tenders.  

32 In accordance with the Commission Implementing Decision on the adoption of the work programme for 2019 and on the 
financing  of  Structural  Reform  Support  Programme  (C(2019)  1542  final)  direct  grants  may  be  awarded  to  international 
organisations, Member States ministries, agencies or other bodies, as well as to other bodies with a public service  mission 
which, in view of the nature of the action, have recognised and relevant technical competence, high degrees of specialisation 
or administrative power in various thematic areas under the SRSP. 
33  TAIEX  is  the  Commission’s  Technical  Assistance  and  Information  Exchange  instrument.  TAIEX  supports  public 
administrations in the approximation, application and enforcement of EU legislation as well as facilitating the sharing of EU 
best practices, https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/tenders/taiex_en 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
8% 2%
1%

1%

88%

AMI list (Call for expression of
interest)

Call for tenders

Framework contracts

Procurement contracts for
services

TAIEX

Figure 5: Types of procurement contract and TAIEX actions (value) 34 

Delegation agreement 

By  31  January  2021  (referring  here  only  to  projects  selected  for  funding  under  the  2019 
round), the implementation of technical support projects was being indirectly managed by the 
international  organisations,  which  have  undergone  an  ex-ante  (pillar-)  assessment  of  their 
procedures  and  systems,  guaranteeing  a  level  of  protection  of  the  EU  financial  interests 
equivalent to that guaranteed by the Commission in direct management. 

Administrative arrangements 

By  31  January  2021  (referring  here  only  to  projects  selected  for  funding  under  the  2019 
round),  three  support  meaures  were  implemented  by  the  way  of  the  administrative 
arrangements:  

  administrative  arrangement  with  the  Joint  Research  Centre  of  the  European 
Commission  for  provision  of  technical  support  for  the  microsimulation  hub  of  the 
Council of Economic Advisors in Greece; and  

  adiminstrative  arrangement  with  the  European  Insurance  and  Occupational  Pensions 
Authority (EIOPA) for increasing capacity to supervise the insurance sector in Croatia 
and Romania. 

34 Values based on contracted amounts. 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
4. 

PROGRESS IN RELATION TO THE PROGRAMME’S OBJECTIVES 

Institutional, administrative and growth-sustaining 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  not  always  adequate  to  address  the  challenges  ahead. 
Inadequate  responses  to  economic  and  social  challenges  could  hamper  competitiveness, 
growth,  employment,  and  investment.  That  is  equally  important  for  Member  States  whose 
currency is not the euro, in their preparation to join the euro area. 

Considering  the  European  dimension  of  these  challenges,  the  SRSP  aims  to  reinforce 
administrative  capacity  in  the  Member  States  and,  by  doing  so,  help  the  Member  States 
implement institutional, administrative and structural reforms. Better administrative capacity 
can make administrative structures more efficient, benefiting the public and business.  

To this end, through its support measures, the SRSP aims to achieve the following results:  

 

improved  ability  of  national  authorities  to  identify  and  address  economic  and 
structural weaknesses;  

  strengthened  ability  to  develop,  design  and  implement  reform  policies  according  to 

 

 

 

 

priorities;  
improved  capacity  of  national  authorities  to  define  processes  and  methodologies  to 
support the design, management and implementation of reforms, and/or the efficiency 
and effectiveness of human resources; 
increased  professional  knowledge,  skills  and  adaptability  to  change  management 
processes;  
improved  channels  of  communication  with  the  Commission,  Member  States  and 
international  organisations  in  order  to  improve  communication  and  coordination  of 
reform efforts; and  
improved  capacity  to  ensure  progress  of  reforms  recommended  within  the  European 
Semester cycle, economic adjustment programmes and Member States’ 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  in  turn  generate 
outcomes. The outcomes then contribute to the achievement of the specific objectives at the 
project and programme level. This in turn feeds into progress towards the general objective of 
the  programme,  which  is  to  support  growth-sustaining  structural  reforms  in  the  Member 
States.  

26 

 
 
 
 
 
General objective of 
the Programme 

Specific objectives 
of the 
programme/projects 

Expected outcomes 

Outputs 

Activities 

Contribute  to  institutional,  administrative  and  growth-sustaining  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, investment and social inclusion 
and to contributing to real convergence in the Union, which may also prepare 
for  participation  in  the  euro  area,  in  particular  in  the  context  of  economic 
governance processes, including through assistance for the efficient, effective 
and transparent use of the Union funds. 

•
•
•

•

•
•

•

•

•

Support in designing reforms 
Support for the development and implementation of reform policies 
Support for the definition and implementation of processes and 
methodologies 
Support for more efficient and effective human resource management 

Adoption of a strategy 
Adoption of a 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, improved human 
resource management  

Action plan, roadmap  
Guidelines, handbook  
Recommendation  
Terms of reference  
Legislative proposal  
Analysis, report  

•
•
•
•
•
•
• Workshops (including material), training, training material 
•
•

Study visit reports  
Communication (including material) and other events  

Short term expert mission(s); 
Long term expert (resident expert and similar); 
Study visit (of officials of the beneficiary MS); 

•
•
•
• Workshop/conference/seminar; 
•
•
•
•
•
•

Training activity; 
IT expertise/advice; 
Collection of statistics; 
Study, research, evaluation; 
Communication activities 
Compilation/dissemination of material (including through 
information technology systems) 
Organisation of local operations 

•

Figure 17: Intervention logic of the SRSP 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.1. 

Progress in achieving the general objective 

The  general  objective  of  the  programme  is  to  contribute  to  institutional,  administrative  and 
growth-sustaining 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, investment and social inclusion and to contributing to real convergence 
in  the  Union,  which  may  also  prepare  for  participation  in  the  euro  area,  in  particular  in  the 
context  of  economic  governance  processes,  including  through  assistance  for  the  efficient, 
effective and transparent use of the Union funds35. 

While it is not within the remit of this report to illustrate the ultimate effects of the reforms36 
on which a Member State may have embarked and for which some support may be or is being 
provided under the SRSP, it can be said that overall the SRSP is on track when it comes to 
delivering on its general objective37.  

The  support  measures  implemented  under  the  SRSP  have  provided  assistance  to  national 
authorities in the design and implementation of a whole range of institutional, administrative 
and structural reforms. The activities under the programme and the outputs already delivered 
under the SRSP 2017  –  2019 rounds (described  below) help  strengthen the overall capacity 
and sound governance of the requesting Member States. 

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 in view of the support provided.  

The table below shows that the support measures under way in the requesting Member States 
and  for  projects  selected  for  financing  under  the  SRSP  2019  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. 

Contribution to institutional and administrative reforms 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Effectiveness of the judicial system 
Efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector 
Public financial management reforms 
Anti-corruption/anti-money-laundering 
Digital economy/digital public administration 
Reforms improving the regulatory frameworks  
Reforms in public procurements rules 

N° of 
measures 

7 
20 
10 
7 
24 
5 
2 

35 In accordance with Article 4 of the SRSP Regulation. 
36 According to Article 16 of the SRSP Regulation, the Commission shall provide an independent mid-term evaluation report 
with  information  on  the  achievement  of  the  programme's  objectives,  the  efficiency  of  the  use  of  the  resources  and  the 
programme’s European added value, as well as the continued relevance of objectives and actions. 
37 Some external factors, such as changes in the political priorities of Member States, may influence the implementation of 
the support measures and there is therefore a risk that reforms for which support had been provided 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 determined on a case-by-case basis and by taking account of external influencing factors. 

28 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
 

Spending reviews 
Tax administration reforms 

Contribution to economic-related and social-related reforms 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Sectoral expertise (transport, logistics, agriculture, etc.) projects 
Enhancing competitiveness and productivity of SMEs 
Implementing  legal  frameworks  in  environment,  circular  economy, 
water, land registry and spatial planning 
Making healthcare systems more accessible, effective and resilient 
Investment management & public private partnerships 
Migration 
Legal framework addressing insolvency and non-performing loans 
Labour market policies 

Capital markets union and access to finance 
Improving  the  quality  and  innovation  of  educational  and  training 

 
 
systems 

 
 
 
 

Social protection and social services 
Bank supervision and resolution frameworks 
Pensions and disabilities schemes 
Energy efficiency, energy poverty and renewables 

TOTAL  

7 
23 

10 
6 

16 
19 
1 
2 
9 
9 

24 

21 

16 
6 
3 
12 

259 

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
4.2. 

Progress in achieving the specific objectives 

Support  measures  financed  by  the  SRSP  2019  budget  are  contributing  to  the  specific 
objectives of the programme as follows38: 

  38% of support measures contribute to the design of reforms. 

o  The  majority  of  support  measures  contributing  to  this  objective  are  in  digital 
public  administration,  governance,  tax  policy  and  environment,  circular 
economy, water, land registry and spatial planning. 

  56% contribute to the formulation, development and implementation of reforms; 

o  The  majority  of  support  measures  contributing  to  this  objective  are  in  digital 
public administration, education and training, healthcare, social protection and 
social services. 

  59%  contribute 
methodologies; 

to 

the  definition  and 

implementation  of  processes  and 

o  The  majority  of  support  measures  contributing  to  this  objective  are  in  digital 
public administration, governance education and training,social protection and 
social services. 

  10% of support measures aim to help improve efficiency and effectiveness of human 

resources management. 

o  The majority of support measures contributing to this objective are in access to 

finance and governance. 

4.3. 

Expected outcomes of SRSP activities  

In line with the intervention logic of the programme, the support measures financed under the 
2019  SRSP  budget  are  expected  to  achieve  outcomes  that  will  ultimately  contribute  to  the 
achievement of the general and specific SRSP objectives as follows.  

  35% of support measures are expected to lead (or have led) to adoption of a strategy, 

draft of a new law or act, or modification of an existing one;  

  57%  of  support  measures  are  expected  to  lead  (or  have  led)  to  adoption  of  (new) 

procedures and actions to enhance the implementation of reforms; 

  53%  of  support  measures  strive  to  deliver  (or  have  delivered)  improved  internal 

working procedures, methodologies and processes/organisation; 

  16%  of  support  measures  aim  to  bring  about  organisational  change,  change 

management and improved human resource management;  

  1%  of  support  measures  are  expected  to  lead  (or  have  led)  to  other  results 

(assessment of software landscape, evaluation of public policies, etc.). 

4.4. 

European added value 

38 Each support measure can contribute to more than one specific objective,  which is why the sum of the figures appear to 
amount to more than 100%. See Annex III for a more detailed listing. 

30 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Actions  implemented  under  the  SRSP  2019  round  are  designed  to  ensure  complementarity 
and  synergy  with  other  programmes  and  policies  at  national,  Union  and  international  level, 
contribute  to  further  promoting  mutual  trust  and  cooperation  between  beneficiary  Member 
States and the Commission, and ensure 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 impact on 
the Union as a whole.  

The Commission is in a better position than any single Member State to identify and channel 
good  practices.  In  many  instances,  therefore,  support  measures  delivered  to  the  Member 
States have been improved by the exchange of good practices among the Member States and 
between Member States and international organisations. This also enabled efficiency gains, as 
positive results in one Member State could be implemented in another. 

Support  measures  implemented  under  the  SRSP  2019  are  expected  to  generate  European 
added value, as the following examples illustrate39. 

  33%  of  support  measures  are  expected  to  have  an  impact  on  cross-border  or 

Union-wide challenges: 

o  The  same  measures  for  example  are  being  provided  to  national  promotional 
banks to help with their participation in InvestEU, an EU-wide initiative; or for 
the introduction of digital justice to, among other things, facilitate international 
and European judicial cooperation. 

  37% are expected to complement other Union programmes40: 

o  Support measures provided under the SRSP 2019 for example helped elaborate 
action plans to transition from coal and identify sources of financing under the 
Union funds to finance the transition. 

  54% are expected to contribute to the consistent and coherent implementation of 

Union laws and policies: 

o  Support  measures  provided  under  SRSP  2019  are  helping  Member  States 
implement  sustainable  mobility,  design  insolvency  frameworks,  design  and 
implement  anti-corruption  measures,  prepare  circular  economy  roadmaps  and 
legislations, or support adult education. 

  51%  of  support  measures  are  expected  to  contribute  to  the  sharing  of  good 

practices, also with a view to increasing the visibility of the programme: 

o  Support measures provided under SRSP 2019 for example involved mproving 
the  institutional  capacity  of  national  authorities  in  the  area  of  local  financial 
management and investment programming through exchange of best practice. 

  24% are  expected to promote  mutual trust between the beneficiary Member State 

and the Commission and between Member States: 

o  Support measures for example allowed for capacity building at the local level 
to  use  classification  of  data  methodology  for  local  social  benefits  or  to  help 
design and deploy a digital strategy to increase transparency and efficiency of 
the administration.  

39 Each support measure can contribute to more than one element relevant to European added value. 
40  Other  Union  funds  or  programmes,  such  as  the  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  (ESIF)  or  other  Community 
programmes. 

31 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
5. 

DELIVERED SUPPORT MEASURES UNDER THE PROGRAMME 

The  third  year  of  implementation  of  the  SRSP  is  showing  concrete  results.  By  31  January 
2020,  276  of  the  projects  implemented  under  2017  –  2019  SRSP  rounds  have  already 
delivered concrete results41. 

SRSP 2017 0
SRSP 2018 3
SRSP 2019 3

AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HR HU IE IT LV LT LU MT NL PL PT RO SE SI SK
4 12 0 11 4
6
1
2
1
1
2

8 10 14 0 12 0
0
3
1
1

9
9
8
2 11 5
2
0
2

1 14 0
0 10 1
2
5
1

0
6
3

0
0
0

0
0
0

1
4
2

7
2
3

0
4
4

0
0
1

0
4
1

9
5
2

6
3

7
3

3
3

0
0

6
2

3
1

Figure 6: Number of completed projects under the SRSP 2017 – 2019 rounds, per Member State 

While the outputs of the individual projects are known (a draft law, strategic and legal advice, 
studies,  training,  workshops,  recommendations,  actions,  plans,  etc.),  the  report  does  not 
systematically evaluate the extent to which the Member State authorities have used the results 
of the support measures to design or implement reforms (the outcome). 

DG REFORM established a mechanism to evaluate the outcomes in order to assess the extent 
to  which the support provided to  Member States met its goals  and to identify  factors which 
influenced the successful delivery of the support measures.  

Under this mechanism, authorities benefitting from  the programme provide feedback on the 
support  provided  (the  outputs)  and  information  concerning  follow-up  actions  taken  several 
months after delivery of the support measures.  

Some  illustrative  examples  of  actual  results  of  the  support  delivered,  and  the  use  of  these 
measures by Member States where available, are provided below. 

41 The implementation period covered by this report (of support measures selected for funding in 2018) is 31 August 2017 - 
31 January 2021. 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Contribution to institutional and administrative reforms 

33 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sustainable budgeting and financial management in Ireland 
(SRSP 2018)
The Irish performance budgeting framework needs improvements to be used for sustainable 
budgeting and reporting. DG REFORM will support the development and roll-out of a new 
outcomes-based budgeting framework, measuring the performance of public policies against 
both sectoral objectives and cross-cutting priorities like climate or equality. The project will 
aim to improve resource prioritisation, the evaluation of public policies and the 
accountability of public managers.

Awareness campaign strategy to reduce the shadow economy in 
Lithuania (SRSP 2018)
The Commission supported national authorities in their fight against tax evasion and the 
shadow economy by designing a comprehensive communication campaign strategy and the 
necessary elements to help the government implement it.
The support provided tailored expertise and consultancy over 9 months.
It consisted of: research and preparatory analysis of the national context in  which the 
campaign would take place, to set  the scene and to define  the most customised and relevant 
strategic  approach; development of a comprehensive and tailormade communication 
strategy; and support for the implementation (training and hotline) and monitoring (key 
performance indicators).

Contribution to economic-related and social-related reforms 

Improving the implementation of the European maritime and 
fisheries fund in Spain (SRSP 2018)
The implementation of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) in Spain had 
experienced substantial delays, affecting the fund’s absorption. Two key issues identified were 
the complex governance scheme, involving several players at national and regional levels, and 
the difficulty to apply the appropriate rules to the regional specificities.
DG REFORM provided technical support to the Spanish managing authority of the EMFF. The 
main objective of the project was to improve the authority’s management capacity and enhance 
the overall performance and use of the fund. The project provided recommendations and an 
action plan to reinforce the institutional capacities of the bodies involved in  the management of 
the EMFF.

Inland waterway transport in Poland - the Oder Waterway (SRSP 
2018)
The Commission helped the Polish authorities to develop a cost-benefit analysis and a 
communication strategy underpinning the modernisation of the Oder Waterway. The objective 
was to enhance the Ministry's capacity to plan and manage an increase in the inland navigation 
in Poland.
The support was provided over 14 months. It aimed to help develop sound methodologies, 
analyses and customized tools for the development of the Oder Waterway, and enhance the 
Ministry's capacity to plan such investments in the future.
Support measures consisted of: a sound cost-benefit analysis and a methodological framework 
for analysing the ways to modernise the Oder Waterway; and a communication strategy 
underpinning the development of the policy on inland waterways.

Support for the creation of a crisis management manual in Czechia 
(SRSP 2019)
DG REFORM is supporting the national resolution authority in drafting a detailed crisis 
management manual. This manual will enable the resolution authority to fully operationalise all 
the necessary steps, processes and procedures that are needed if a financial institution is 
determined to be failing or likely to fail. The technical support includes identifying missing 
procedures and processes in the national resolution framework, providing step-bystep guidance 
on the implementation of all possible resolution tools and preparing notification and decision 
templates. The project also includes a resolution simulation exercise.

34 

 
 
 
 
 
Alternative Investment Funds in Slovenia (SRSP 2019)

The Commission has helped national authorities in Slovenia strengthen alternative investment 
funds.
The support provided by DG REFORM and a private provider consisted of an independent 
analysis of the regulatory and legal framework for alternative investment funds in Slovenia. It 
included studies, a gap analysis and the flagging and prioritising of areas for improvement. 
The support also included workshops with a wide range of fund managers and market 
participants. 
The support  delivered the following results: a comprehensive analysis of alternative 
investment funds in Slovenia (private equity funds and real estate funds), with a legal review 
and regulatory recommendations.
And had the following impact: improved regulatory framework for alternative investment 
funds and a positive effect of the Slovenian capital markets.

Reforming the assessment of disability in Greece (SRSP 2019)
The Commission is supporting several national authorities in their efforts to (i) modernise the 
administrative processes in the field of disability assessment, and (ii) review the disability 
assessment by moving from a medical impairment-based approach towards a more holistic 
assessment of disability which takes into account functional capacity and individual 
circumstances. 
Support is provided in the following areas: organisational development; review of business & 
IT processes; communication & customer services; human resources: training needs analysis 
& programme; review of the assessment methodology; and design of a pilot programme.

Implementing a primary health care reform in Austria (SRSP 
2018)
The Commission is supporting national authorities in their efforts to implement a primary 
health care reform and provide effective start-up services to primary care units to enable health 
professionals to start their own primary health care units.
The support planned by DG REFORM is built on the following components:  creating a start-
up guide with information for health professionals for the successful establishment of a 
Primary Health Care Unit; creating support material and providing training sessions for the 
Social Health Insurance and regional Governments on the availability and use of financial 
instruments for Primary Health Care Units; providing hands-on consultancy services to help 
start up Primary Health Care Units; and designing a website and a communication strategy.

Transformation of a national development institution in Spain 
(SRSP 2019)
The Spanish Government lists the fight against climate change amongst  its top priorities. 
Instituto de Crédito Oficial plays a key role in working towards fulfilling these objectives. DG 
REFORM helps to:
● facilitate the institute’s categorisation of financing activities following EU taxonomy;
● support the institute in financing new sectors and using new financial instruments;
● identify the processes needed to improve its green and social bonds programmes and impact 
measurement.
The project will enable Instituto de Crédito Oficial to increase its capacity to finance 
sustainable projects and measure their economic and social impact.

35 

 
 
 
 
 
6.  CONCLUSION 

Reforms  are  crucial  to  modernise  the  economies  of  the  Member  States  and  to  encourage 
investment, create jobs and raise living standards. The successful implementation of reforms 
requires  good  administrative  capacity  and  a  high  sense  of  ownership  of  the  reform 
process by the Member State concerned. The SRSP aims to help Member State authorities 
in their efforts to design and implement growth-enhancing reforms. 

The  third  year  of  the  implementation  of  the  SRSP  showed  an  increase  in  demand  for  the 
programme from Member States – 26 Member States submitted 580 requests for support 
(the SRSP 2018 round saw 444 requests for support from 24 Member States). This is the first 
indication that the support provided by the Commission is relevant and needed.  

This report has also described how the Commission has implemented the measures funded 
under the SRSP 2019 and how it is monitoring actions finalised under the SRSP 2017 and 
2018 rounds.  

Overall,  three  years  of  implementation  of  the  SRSP  have  shown  that  the  programme  can 
provide  the  necessary  assistance  to  the  national  authorities  to  identify  and  overcome 
certain  structural  weaknesses  and  bottlenecks  in  the  design  or  implementation  of 
reforms.  Likewise,  it  has  so  far  proven  to  be  a  significant  tool  in  improving  the  Member 
States’ capacity to define more efficient processes and methodologies and/or progress towards 
more effective human resource management. A number of concrete examples of results and 
follow-up actions by the governments demonstrate this. 

In addition, with the view of continuing to provide technical support to Member States after 
the end of the SRSP in 2020, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a Regulation 
establishing  the  successor  of  the  Programme  -  the  Technical  Support  Instrument42  -  with  a 
similar scope and objectives.  

While  results  of  the  support  actions  carried  out  under  the  SRSP  contribute  to  the  reform 
processes,  effective  follow-up  of  such  actions  in  terms  of  concretisation  of  reforms 
remain the prerogative of the recipient Member State.  

In  the  years  to  come,  the  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  the  uptake  of  the  support 
measures, as well as the implementation of institutional, administrative and growth-enhancing 
reforms. 

42 Regulation (EU) 2021/240 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 February 2021 establishing a Technical 
Support Instrument, OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 1 – 16. 

36 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
ANNEX I 

LIST OF SUPPORT MEASURES IMPLEMENTED UNDER SRSP 2019 

Governance and public administration 

•  Development  of  the  open  source  intelligence  capabilities  to  fight  and  prevent 

cybercrime, fraud and cconomic crime 

•  Better Regulation - reducing administrative burdens for citizens, public administration 

and enterprises 

Justice reform  

•  e-Government: implement the "Once-Only" Principle 
• 
•  Support for public administration reform 
•  Enhancing the current Reform of the Court System and the implementation process, as 

well as the efficiency of justice 

•  Digitalization of the Public Prosecutor's Office  
•  Feasibility study of the new Integrated Foreigners Administration System (IFAS) 
•  Administrative automation through machine learning / processing of civil letters 
•  Establishment of data governance services  
•  Reinforcement of the public procurement system 
•  Support for public administration and digital public administration reforms 
•  Promoting  cyber-justice  through  change  management  and  improvement  of  data 

collection  

ICT strategic plan for the administration during the period 2021-2024 

•  Tackling grant fraud through continous supervision and data-driven risk assessments 
• 
•  Life events data exchange 
•  Reform of the organisation of the Directorate-General for the Treasury 
•  Framework for assessing the performance of public polices - development of multiple 
assessment  tools  and  analytical  capacity  building  for  evidence-based  policy-making 
and implementation  

•  Public Administration HR, innovation and capacity 
• 

Introduction  of  an  innovative  recruitment  and  assessment  process  in  the  public 
administration 

•  Reinforcing the institutional corruption prevention community 
•  Support  for  the  implementation  of  a  National  Digital  Strategy  -  change  and  cultural 

• 

management 
Improvement of the implementation performance and absorption capacity of structural 
funds at the local level 

•  Delivering good governance in local governments  
•  Public sector innovation labs   
•  Development of the judicial system 
• 
• 

Increasing the efficiency of the interior sector institutions  
Improving SOLVIT's ability to signal structural problems by attracting more business 
cases 

•  Regulatory  framework  for  cloud  computing  and  a  roadmap  for  distributed  ledger 

technologies in the government sector 
•  Shared services strategic deployment plan 
• 

Increasing the capacity of the Government to implement EU restrictive measures 
37 

 
 
 
 
•  Building institutional capacity of a Court of Accounts and its capacity to deal with the 

external environment 
Judicial reforms 

• 
•  Support the implementation of house of children 
•  Strategy to strengthen local governance  
•  Continued support to a well performing judiciary 
•  Agile development provided by the Office for Public Procurement 
•  Modernisation of the national data-information infrastructure  
•  Risk analysis regarding money laundering terrorism financing 
•  Specialised training programme in financial crime 
•  Anti-money-laundering  training  programme  to  strengthen  capacity  of  the  financial 

sector 

•  Target  operating  model  development  for  Office  for  prevention  of  laundering  of 

proceeds derived from criminal activity  

•  Support  to  the  Reception  and  Identification  Service  and  the  Departement  for  the 

Protection of Asylum Seekers on reception  

Growth and business environment 

•  Learning from failures and successes regarding the support of SMEs in the process of 

digitalisation  

•  Optimisation of rail management and infrastructure  
•  National energy and climate modelling and forecasting  
•  Trading model and legislative framework for a gas hub 
•  National strategy for SMEs 2021-2027 
•  A  long  term  economic  strategy  –  towards  sustainable  development  and  international 

competitiveness 

•  Revising the national strategy for the management of municipal waste 
•  Analysis, recommendations and legislative proposals for a building act reform in the 

area of spatial planning 

•  Analyses and Recommendations for housing affordability improvement  
•  Setting  up  a  competitive  bidding  process  within  the  revised  EU  Emission  Trading 

System 

•  Preparation  of  new  national  circular  economy  strategic  framework,  including  new 

waste management strategy  

•  Large Cases Unit – official statistics 
•  Support for a transport and mobility master plan  
•  Digital transformation of the industry 
• 
Improving the energy system modelling tools and capacity 
•  Program to improve the detection of competition infringements 
•  Strategy for the coastal protection, considering the effects of climate change 
•  Guidance to strategic decisions on public-private partnership on wastewater plants 
• 
•  Enhancing  authorities’  operational  capacity  on  regulatory  methodologies  and 

Impact of regulations on international investment  

processes 

•  Business environment reform 
•  Enhancing  competencies  of  supervisory  boards  and  audit  committees  in  state-owned 

enterprises 

•  Activation of non-operating assets in state-owned enterprises 

38 

 
 
 
 
 
• 

Increasing  energy  efficiency,  associated  comfort  levels  and  occupant  productivity  of 
public and residential buildings 

•  Support to the implementation of the national climate strategy 
•  Strengthening the  regulatory processes  for improved competiveness  and  productivity 

of businesses in hungary 

•  Public sector energy efficiency investment programme to achieve EU’s 2030 climate 

and energy targets 
Improving management development standards in SMEs  

• 
•  Policy and strategy development in the field of advanced therapy medicinal products  
•  Enhancing an environmental fiscal reform  
•  Support  to  elaborate  the  legislative  and  regulatory  framework  to  promote  the  power 

purchase agreements  

•  Enhancing the national aid registry with new capabilities 
•  Rating Audit Control – construction of a model to rationalise and simplify controls on 

businesses 

Integration of industry into European value chains 

•  New economic regulation for transport in case of emergency events 
•  Support for the establishment of Special Economic Zones  
•  Enhancing the efficiency of the cooperation between business and science 
• 
•  Building analytical capacity of the National Productivity Board 
•  Contribution to a coherent digital infrastructure strategy  
•  Ensuring sustainable mobility 
•  Digitalisation of construction planning  
•  Establishment of national efficiency experts system 
•  Supporting strengthening of state waters 
• 

Improvement  of  national  capacity  to  evaluate  structural  reforms  and  public  policies, 
and to analyse and forecast investment. 

•  Regulation of petroleum products and biofuels  
•  Reinforcing regulatory impact assessment  
•  Reduce-Reuse-Recycle: 3 roads to a circular economy 
• 

Increase the institutional capacity of national authorities and its structures to integrate 
flood risk reduction across all relevant sectors 
•  Comprehensive redesign of the licensing system  
•  Elaboration  of  the  strategy  for  economic  and  social  development  of  a  coal  mining 

region  

•  The  Convention  on  International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  Wild  Fauna  and 

Flora (CITES) E-permitting in Sweden 

•  Preparation of the regulation on sustainable mobility  
•  Clean Energy Goals for 2020 and 2030 
•  Economic restructuring of a region 
•  Enhancing specialist capacities of the Better Regulation Center 
•  Supporting  the  transformation  of  the  economy  by  increasing  its  innovation 

performance 

•  Health impacts of air pollution 
• 

Improve public sector capacity in managing public-private partnerships 

Labour market, education, health and social services 

•  Start-up services for primary health care units 
•  Supporting the design  and implementation  of a comprehensive  education monitoring 

system 

39 

 
 
 
 
•  Recognition of learning outcomes for very low-skilled people 
•  Disability assessment: introducing a new functionality tool 
•  Dual learning in Flanders: professionalisation of teachers 
•  Digital transition in education system 
•  VET and state education standards 
•  Support to design the reform of teachers’ training system and career path 
•  Support for the development of a draft e-Health strategy (2021-2027) and action plan 
•  Completion of the special education reform  
•  Support to address students' disengagement and school dropout 
•  Addressing regional disparities in the education system 
• 
• 
•  Enhancing data-informed strategic governance in education 
•  Promoting  inclusive  education:  addressing  challenges  in  legislation,  educational 

Integrated hospital master plan  
Improving the provision of labour market services  

policy and practice 

Inclusion of refugees in the labour market 

•  Technical support for the reform of the disability assessment system 
•  Design and implementation of the national eHealth interoperability framework 
• 
•  Technical support for the reform of the social care system for the elderly 
•  Tackling youth and long-term unemployment  
•  Telemedicine in a selected regions 
•  Measures  towards  the  design  of  a  system  for  the  identification,  evaluation  and 

• 

recognition of basic competencies in adults 
Improving  public  health  actions  through  better  information  on  equity  and  social 
determinants  of  health  and  improved  tools  for  evaluating  health  promotion 
interventions 

•  Modernisation of the statistical and analytical information of the Ministry of Labour, 

Migration and Social Security 

•  Technical support on the implementation of the five-year plan 2017-2022 on housing 

first and combating homelessness  

•  Youth  prevention,  community  sexually  transmitted  infection  services,  integrated 

hepatitis c care 

•  Development  of  a  support  system  for  the  implementation  of  a  comprehensive 

curricular reform 

•  Technical support on the harmonisation of the collection of information on local social 

benefits  

•  The role of pension awareness and the promoting of pension savings 
•  eHealth Strategic Development Plan 2020-2025 
•  Development of Health System Performance Assessment 
•  Technical support to reform the elderly care system 
•  Developing a methodology for calculating the prices of social services 
•  Technical support to improve the quality and relevance of the adult education system 
• 
•  Developing a new automatic enrolment workplace retirement savings system  
•  Health system performance assessment  
•  Strengthening the system of active labour market policies through reward and support 

Increasing the sustainability of higher education provision  

mechanisms 

•  Support  to  the  reinforcement  of  interinstitutional  governance  in  the  field  of  labour 

exploitation, especially in the agricultural sector 

•  Public  employment  services  reform  and  capacity-building  -  integrated  collection  of 

jobseekers' information  

40 

 
 
Implementation of a talent attraction policy 

• 
•  Reform of the school management system and improvement of school leadership 
•  Establishing a public annuity provider 
•  Technical support to reform the disability assessment system 
•  Restructuring of the hospital sector  
•  “One Health” approach to anti-microbial resistance  
•  Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs)  
•  Technical  support  to  harmonise  the  disability  assessment  system  and  enhance 

integration of people with disabilities in the labour market 

•  New national basic skills strategy 
•  Supporting the improvement of quality in inclusive education  
•  Support for the systematic update of the Diagnosis Related Groups system 
•  Learning communities in educational areas of  priority intervention 
•  Evaluating the effectiveness of centralised public procurement of medicines 
•  Expansion and modernization of national support centres for migrant integration 
•  Strengthening national health system reform by empowering health professionals  
• 

Improving  quality,  relevance  and  sustainability  (and  governance  structures)  of  the 
national VET system 

•  Support for developing an indexation mechanism and piloting a new payment method 

for social assistance benefits  

•  Quality standards for primary care and ambulatory care  
•  Monitoring  and  evaluation  system  at  county  level  for  the  implementation  of  the 

• 

strategy for the inclusion of Roma minority citizens  
Improving the capacity of municipalities to assess the quality of healthcare delivered 
at  home,  in  nursing  homes  and  in  special  housing  for  people  with  functional 
impairments 

•  Labour  market  integration  of  the  long  term  unemployed  persons  and  those  not  in 

education, employment or training  

•  Support for improving quality of care and patient safety  
•  Support to the design of a labour mobility scheme 
•  Deinstitutionalisation of substitute care for children  
•  Reducing employment gender gap in the labour market 
•  Reorganisation of the blood system 

Revenue administration and public financial management 

•  “Self- assessment” in personal income tax, value added tax and corporate income tax 
•  Cooperative tax compliance programme reform 
•  Design and implementation of an expenditure rule at regional level  
•  Preparation for the introduction of spending reviews  
•  New technologies in the customs administration 
•  Change management to accompany public financial management reforms 
•  Developing  a  trial  for  a  behavioural  approach  to  tax  debt  collection  through 

streamlined communication 

•  Analysis of financial management information systems 
• 
• 

Improving public financial management: spending review and budget preparation  
IT capacity building for Ministry of Finance and the Independent Authority of Public 
Revenue 

•  Continuation of technical assistance in core functions of revenue administration 
•  Supporting the microsimulation hub of the Council of economic advisors 
•  Transport infrastructure spending review 
41 

 
 
 
 
•  Assessment of the impact of digital economy on taxation 
•  VAT reporting reform  
• 
•  Measuring tax compliance cost and adapting automatic performance measurements of 

Improving the quality of the state budget preparation process 

the tax authority 

•  Financial reporting reforms 
•  Support for the implementation of the accrual IPSAS/EPSAS-based accounting in the 

public administration 
Improving the evaluation of VAT and excise tax policies  
Improvement of VAT administration 

• 
• 
•  Scoping the feasibility of a reform of the budgetary accounting and financial reporting 

framework  

•  Support to the state revenue service in the implementation of mid-term tax strategy of 

the Government  

•  Technical  support  in  transfer  pricing  risk  assessment  and  management  capacity 

building 

•  Digital transformation of debt and cash management process within the treasury  
• 
• 

Improving evaluation practices for better policy making 
Implementation  of  the  compliance  risk  management  model  in  the  national  revenue 
administration 

•  Development  and  implementation  of  the  measurement,  monitoring  and  evaluation 

system in the national revenue administration 

•  Technical support on the assessment of effectiveness of tax incentives  
•  Methodology for estimating excise gap 
•  Methodology for estimating the corporate income tax gap  
•  Expert  assistance  in  knowledge-based  capacity  building  in  transfer  pricing  to  the 

Polish revenue administration 

•  Public financial management reform 
• 

Increasing  the  strategic  management  capacity  of  the  National  Agency  for  Fiscal 
Administration 

•  Setting up an IT system for dealing with tax complaints 
•  Reforming the taxation of investment funds 
•  Evaluation of the position and performance of the Council for Budget Responsibility 
•  Public financial management reform  

Financial services and access to finance 

•  Fighting tax fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing 
•  Technical  support  for  the  participation  in  the  exchange  rate  mechanism  ІІ  and  the 

Eurozone 

•  Support to increase awareness about the insolvency framework 
•  Reform of the insolvency framework for credit institutions 
•  Crisis management manual in the banking sector 
•  Credit institutions insolvency legislation 
•  Support for capacity building to directly participate in InvestEU 
•  Assistance to a national promotional institution to develop its strategic goals  
•  Support for insolvency, pre-insolvency, restructuring and data collection  
•  Marketing practices and ageing populations to avoid financial misselling 
•  Setting up of a new credit rating and scoring models with development of risk-based 

pricing for national promotional bank 

•  Preparation for the transformation of national promotional bank’s core banking system 

42 

 
 
 
 
•  Capital market diagnostic 
•  Alignment of a central depository and clearing company with the European standards 

for corporate action processing 

•  Strengthening consumer protection through structured creditworthiness 
•  System for the compilation of financial accounts 
• 

Improvement  of  risk  based  supervision  in  the  insurance  sector  in  the  Financial 
Services Supervisory Agency  

•  Reform of bankruptcy law and secondary legislation 
•  Capacity building to directly participate in the InvestEU Programme 
•  A supervisory framework for complex investment firms 
• 

Increase the ability to attract capital investments on public real estate, maximizing the 
social-economic impact 

•  Addressing consumer protection and addressing the low level of financial literacy 
•  Strengthening  data  collection  and  court  organisation  regarding  insolvency  and 

enforcement 

•  Municipal  debt  management  and  investment  capacity  building  for  enhanced  local 

development  

•  Support to the national public investment development agency 
•  Review of deposit guarantee scheme 
•  Strategy on sustainable/green finance (green capital markets) 
•  State ownership policy review  
•  Support for reorganisation and preventive restructuring 
•  Support in conducting the pillar assessment of Development Finance Institution Altum 
• 
•  Feasibility study on innovative technological solutions in the financial markets  
•  Support for pillar assessment process to directly participate in InvestEU 

Implementation of the capital market development strategy  

Support to strengthen insolvency framework  

•  Enhancing  the  supervision  function  of  the  insurance  market  in  respect  of  market 

conduct  

•  Developing  internal  processes  and  procedures  specific  to  the  payments  oversight 

authority for performing on-site inspections 

•  Development  of  internal  processes  and  procedures  specific  to  resolution  authority, 

from an operational point of view  

•  Assistance to support the implementation of  a national development bank  
•  Alternative investment Funds 
•  Analysis  of  social  outcomes  contracting  and  the  implementation  of  social  impact 

bonds  

•  Assistance  in  the  development  of  appropriate  supervision  methods  by  the  insurance 

supervision agency 

43