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

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.10.2021 COM(2021) 622 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Monitoring Report on the implementation of the 2019 Structural Reform Support Programme {SWD(2021) 283 final}  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
AND THE COUNCIL 

Annual Monitoring Report on the implementation of the 2019 Structural Reform 
Support Programme 

INTRODUCTION 

Since  2017,  the  European  Commission  has  been  managing  the  Structural  Reform 
Support Programme (SRSP). The SRSP, with a budget of EUR 222.8 million1, supports 
Member States  in  designing and implementing institutional,  administrative and growth-
enhancing reforms.  

Structural  reforms  are,  by  their  nature,  complex  processes,  and  their  design  and 
implementation  require  highly  specialised  knowledge  and  skills  at  every  stage.  In 
addition, some Member States lack the capacity to address the administrative, economic 
and social challenges that arise from structural reforms. 

The  objective  of  the  SRSP  is  to  help  Member  States  address  these  challenges  and 
strengthen  their  capacity  to  prepare  and  implement  growth-enhancing  reforms.  This 
helps  to  strengthen  public  institutions  and  administrations  and  improve  governance 
processes  and the performance and resilience of  the economy and society at  large. The 
goal  is  to  enhance  cohesion  and  improve  competitiveness,  productivity,  sustainable 
growth, job creation and investment. 

This report provides an overview of the measures supported under the 2019 SRSP. It 
describes the process of selecting and implementing projects and gives an account of the 
results achieved so far through projects under the 2017, 2018 and 2019 SRSPs.  

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2019 SRSP  

2019 was  the third  year of activities  under the SRSP. Like  the first  2 years, the third 
showed  that  there  is  high  demand  for  the  programme  –  27  Member  States  submitted 
580 requests for support, for an amount estimated to be almost two and a half times 
the available SRSP budget for 2019.   

The  Commission  assessed  Member  States’  requests  against  the  principles  and 
criteria  established  in  the  SRSP  Regulation  and  selected  263  requests  from  26 
Member States.  

The selected requests were distributed across the main policy areas as follows:  

  27% – labour market, education, health and social policy;  
  23% – growth and business environment (including climate and environment); 
  18% – governance and public administration; 
  17% – financial services and access to finance; and 
  15% – revenue administration and public financial management. 

The largest proportions of support measures aim to:  

1  The  budget  increased  when  the  original  SRSP  Regulation  (EU)  2017/825  (OJ  L  129,  19.5.2017,  p.  1-16)  was 
amended (Regulation (EU) 2018/1671, OJ L 284, 12.11.2018, p. 3-5).  

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  digitalise public administration (12%);  
  strengthen education and training schemes (8%); 
  make healthcare systems more accessible, effective and resilient (8%); 
 
  develop national and capital markets across borders (6%); and 
  enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector (8%). 

reinforce social protection and social services (7%); 

In line with the principle of sound financial management, priority was given to requests 
that allowed for quick delivery of support and rapid implementation of reforms on 
the ground. Requests that addressed defined objectives, and which were likely to have a 
strong impact, were also a priority.  

92% of requests selected for funding under the 2019 SRSP were related directly to 
the EU’s strategic priorities:  

  62%  –  implementation  of  reforms  in  response  to  challenges  highlighted  in  the 
European  Semester  process  (country-specific  recommendations  and  country 
reports);  

  21%  –  implementation  of  EU  priorities  (capital  markets  union,  digital  single 

market, energy union and climate, etc.);  

  5% – implementation of EU law; and  
  4% – implementation of the EU’s economic adjustment programmes.   

The remaining 8% were related to the implementation of Member States’ reforms linked 
to other priorities. 

By  31  January  2021,  20%  of  the  reform  support  projects  implemented  under  the  2019 
SRSP had been completed and 80% were ongoing. 

PROGRESS IN RELATION TO THE PROGRAMME’S OBJECTIVES 

In  its  third  year  of  implementation,  the  SRSP  made  a  significant  contribution  to 
Member  States’  efforts  to  identify  and  overcome  structural  weaknesses  that  prevent 
the design and implementation of reforms. This included: 

  helping to  review  current law-making procedures (e.g.  amending  an existing 

 

law on labour mobility); 
identifying  weaknesses  and  providing  recommendations  for  improvements 
(e.g. in the procurement of IT solutions); 

  enhancing  Member  States’  capacity  to  define  more  efficient  processes  and 
methodologies  (e.g.  by  developing  a  health  system  performance  assessment 
framework); 

  supporting  more  effective  human  resource  management  (e.g.  by  helping  to 
improve  strategic  management  and  cooperation  among  senior  and  middle 
managers). 

Actions selected and implemented under the 2019 SRSP are designed to ensure European 
added value. The SRSP complements other programmes and policies at  national,  EU 
and  international  level  and  promotes  mutual  trust  and  cooperation  between 
beneficiary  Member  States  and  the  Commission.  In  addition,  SRSP  actions  support  the 
development and implementation of solutions that address national challenges while also 
having  a  positive  impact  on  Union-wide  challenges  or  challenges  involving  several 
Member States.  

The following support measures are illustrative examples:  

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  helping  to  develop  action  plans  that  support  the  transition  from  coal,  and 

 

identifying sources of EU funding to finance the transition; 
facilitating sustainable mobility, designing insolvency frameworks and designing 
and implementing anti-corruption measures;  

  exchanging  best  practices  with  Member  States  which  have  successfully 

implemented public financial management reforms; 

  helping  national  promotional  banks  in  several  Member  States  to  participate  in 

InvestEU. 

It is not within the remit of this report to illustrate the ultimate effects of the reforms2 on 
which  a  Member  State  may  have  embarked  as  a  result  of  SRSP  support  measures. 
However,  we  can  say  that  the  SRSP  is  on  track  when  it  comes  to  delivering  on  its 
general objective.  

The  support  measures  implemented  under  the  first  three  rounds  of  the  SRSP  in  2017, 
2018  and  2019  are  contributing  to  the  design  and  implementation  of  institutional, 
administrative and growth-enhancing reforms. 

Among  the  projects  implemented  under  the  first  three  SRSP  rounds,  276  have  already 
helped to deliver concrete results, such as: 

  designing a reform to implement the digital strategy; 
 

recommendations to strengthen the capacity of bodies implementing the European 
maritime and fisheries fund; 

  developing a cost-benefit analysis and a communication strategy underpinning the 

modernisation of a waterway; 

  a pilot project to upgrade the quality of budget preparation;  
  drafting  a  detailed  crisis  management  manual  for  the  national  bank  resolution 

authority. 

CONCLUSION 

In  its  third  year,  the  SRSP  showed  a  further  increase  in  demand,  with  27  Member 
States submitting 580 requests for support (up from 24 Member States submitting 444 
requests for support under the 2018 SRSP).  

Overall, the first 3 years of the SRSP have shown that the programme can help national 
authorities identify and overcome structural weaknesses and bottlenecks when designing 
and implementing reforms. A number of specific results demonstrate this. 

However, while the measures aim to support the reform process, the recipient Member 
State is responsible for effective follow-up of the actions and actual implementation 
of the reforms.  

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

2 According to Article 16 of the SRSP Regulation, the Commission must provide an independent mid-term evaluation 
report. This will look at progress towards achieving the programme’s objectives, efficiency in the use of resources, the 
programme’s European added value and the continued relevance of its objectives and actions. 

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