REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Technical Support Instrument - Annual Report 2023
Date: 2024-10-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU financial instrument, EU financing arrangements, activity report, competitiveness, economic and social cohesion, economic recovery, investment, structural adjustment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.10.2024  COM(2024) 445 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Technical Support Instrument - Annual Report 2023   
 
 
Foreword  

I am glad to present this report covering the 2023 cycle of the Technical Support Instrument 
(TSI).  At its third recurrence, the TSI confirms to be a successful policy instrument that is of 
tangible benefit to Member States. Yet again, the number of requests for support from the 
national authorities was considerably larger than the number of requests that DG REFORM 
was able to serve. 

The evidence we present in this report shows that the TSI helps Member States to improve 
their administrative capacity to design, develop and implement reforms, and contributes to 
achieving  sustainable  growth  and  ease  the  green  and  digital  transitions.  With  no 
preallocation of funds based on geographic or thematic factors, the TSI remains a flexible 
and demand-driven instrument that allows adapting to emerging needs and fast-changing 
environments.   

Remarkably, Member States’  interest in taking part in multi-country projects continued to 
rise, with 34 such projects under TSI 2023. Member States also demonstrated their interest 
in strengthening cooperation at regional level through 10 multi-regional projects. Similarly, 
there was a strong uptake by Member States of the 12 flagship projects for technical support 
that were selected on the basis of Member States’ needs and linked to EU top priorities.  

In 2023, the majority of reforms supported by the TSI was linked to the implementation of 
national  recovery  and  resilience  plans.  Furthermore,  in  the  context  of  the  Commission’s 
political priority to accelerate the integration and accession process, the TSI opened beyond 
the EU boundaries and launched a pilot with enlargement countries as observers of selected 
technical support projects.  

Another important milestone in 2023 was the adoption of the Communication on Enhancing 
the  European  Administrative  Space  (ComPAct),  which  proposed  concrete  actions  to  help 
public administrations meet the needs of people and businesses across Europe. Linked to 
the ComPAct, the Public Administration Cooperation Exchange (PACE) was also launched in 
2023  as  a  TSI  flagship  project.  This  initiative  aims  to  promote  peer-learning  and  the 
exchange of best practices among civil servants of different Member States to strengthen 
administrative  capacity,  policymaking  and  implementation  skills.  PACE  saw  a  significant 
take-up with more than 300 civil servants taking part in 70 exchanges across Member States.  

With this report we also highlight the significant contribution of the TSI to competitiveness, 
a key EU priority. This overview of TSI support to Member States on competitiveness during 
2023 is structured along the nine competitiveness drivers identified in the ‘Single Market at 
30’  Communication  and  the  2024  annual  single  market  and  competitiveness  report.  The 
report presents concrete cases in which the TSI supported European businesses in driving 
Member States’ economies creating jobs, cohesion, innovation, and prosperity.  

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I am confident that the TSI will keep supporting the design and implementation of reforms 
in line with key EU policies and priorities, addressing national and transnational challenges, 
and thus having a clearly positive EU-wide impact in the years to come. 

Judit RÓZSA 
Acting Director-General DG REFORM 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Foreword ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 

The Technical Support Instrument ......................................................................................................................... 4 

The TSI in 2023 ................................................................................................................................................................ 5 

I.  Highlights .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 

Public administration and governance ....................................................................................................... 6 

II.  The TSI 2023 cycle - facts and figures ................................................................................................. 6 

Launch of the TSI 2023 cycle ......................................................................................................................... 6 

TSI 2023 requests for support ....................................................................................................................... 7 

TSI 2023 projects .................................................................................................................................................. 9 

Flagship projects ................................................................................................................................................. 12 

RRP support ........................................................................................................................................................... 12 

Pilot for enlargement countries as observers ..................................................................................... 13 

III.  Project execution ............................................................................................................................................ 13 

IV.  Cooperation and support plans .............................................................................................................. 14 

V.  Communication on the TSI ........................................................................................................................ 14 

VI.  Evaluation of the TSI ................................................................................................................................... 16 

The TSI as a key instrument to support EU competitiveness ................................................................ 16 

I. 

Functioning single market ......................................................................................................................... 19 

II.  Access to private capital ............................................................................................................................ 20 

III.  Public investment and infrastructure .................................................................................................. 21 

IV.  Research and innovation............................................................................................................................ 22 

V.  Energy .................................................................................................................................................................. 23 

VI.  Circularity ........................................................................................................................................................... 24 

VII.  Digitalisation .................................................................................................................................................... 25 

VIII.  Education and skills ...................................................................................................................................... 26 

IX.  Trade and open strategic autonomy ................................................................................................... 27 

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................ 28 

Annex 1 – The TSI annual cycle ....................................................................................................................... 29 

Annex 2 – 2023 TSI general call: requests by Member State ......................................................... 30 

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THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT INSTRUMENT 

Since 2021, the Technical Support Instrument1 (TSI) is the EU programme providing 
tailor-made  technical  expertise  to  Member  States  to  improve  their  capacity  to 
design and implement their reform agenda, including via their national resilience 
and  recovery  plans.  Its  general  objective  is  to  promote  the  EU’s  economic,  social  and 
territorial  cohesion  by  supporting  Member  States’  efforts  to  implement  the  necessary 
reforms to achieve economic and social recovery, resilience and upward economic and social 
convergence. 

Managed by the European Commission’s DG REFORM, the TSI is available to any Member 
State facing challenges in the process of designing and implementing reforms. This includes 
reforms that aim to address challenges identified in the  European Semester process of 
economic  policy  coordination,  the  EU’s  policy  priorities  or  reforms  undertaken  at  a 
Member State’s own initiative. The TSI does not pre-allocate funds by Member State 
or policy area. 

The TSI does not require co-financing from Member States. Its overall budget for the 2021-
2027 multiannual financial framework stands at EUR 864.4 million. In addition, Member 
States may request additional technical support via a direct contribution or as part of their 
recovery and resilience plans. 

2021 

116.4 

2022 

118.7 

2023 

121.1 

2024 

123.5 

2025 

126.0 

2026 

128.5 

2027 

130.4 

Total 

864.4 

Figure 1 - TSI budget programming 2021-2027 (million euro) 

The TSI offers beneficiary authorities in Member States a unique project-based access to 
technical expertise and peer-learning opportunities to help them tackle reform challenges. It 
is an instrument driven by the demands of the Member States and it is organised in annual 
cycles, as described in Annex 1. TSI support covers the provision of expertise and experts 
related to policy advice, policy change, formulation of strategies and reform roadmaps and 
support  to  legislative,  institutional,  structural  and  administrative  reforms.  It  also  covers 
institutional,  administrative  or  sectoral  capacity  building,  seminars,  conferences  and 
workshops,  exchanges  of  best  practices  and  training  actions,  development  of  common 
methodologies, IT capacity building and carrying out studies. 

The TSI therefore strengthens the institutional and administrative capacity of EU Member 
States.  The  support  is  tailored  to  reform  needs  and  the  capacity  endowment  of  each 
beneficiary authority. Each project receives a unique combination of expertise provided by 
the European Commission’s (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commission’) in-house experts, 
and  experts  from  EU  Member  State  national  administrations  (e.g.  via  the  Technical 
Assistance and Information Exchange instrument of the Commission, TAIEX2), international 
organisations  or  the  private  sector.  When  needed,  the  Commission  contracts  in  external 

1 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 (the ‘TSI Regulation’). 
2 https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/funding-and-technical-assistance/taiex_en. 

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expertise via direct management (mainly private sector) or indirect management3 (mainly 
international organisations). DG REFORM staff are fully involved throughout the process of 
implementing each project. 

THE TSI IN 2023 

I.  Highlights 

As in previous years, in 2023 the TSI provided technical support to all Member States in a 
wide range of policy areas following the requests submitted by the national authorities. 
These  included  public  administration  and  governance,  the  green  and  digital  transition, 
competitiveness,  health  and  long-term  care,  revenue  administration  and  customs,  public 
financial management, justice, rule of law, anti-corruption, integrity and public procurement, 
the labour market and social protection skills, education and training and migration. 

Figure 2 - TSI 2023: Contribution to key policy priorities 

The TSI 2023 projects also strongly supported the implementation of national recovery and 
resilience  plans4  (RRPs).  The  TSI  continued  to  support  Member  States  in  designing  and 
implementing reforms for the green and digital transitions. To strengthen solidarity with 
Ukraine, the TSI also supported Member States in implementing restrictive measures against 
Russia. And in line with the 2023 European Year of Skills, the TSI supported several Member 
States in building their national skills strategy to overcome skill shortages and mismatch. 

3 The list of entities implementing EU funds under indirect management for the Technical Support Instrument 
is provided on the Technical Support Instrument website. 
4 Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing 
the Recovery and Resilience Facility, OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 17-75 (the ‘RRF Regulation’ , Article 7.2). 

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At interinstitutional level, on 7 November 2023 the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, 
Elisa  Ferreira,  met  with  the  Budgets  Committee  and  the  Committee  for  Economic  and 
Monetary  Affairs  at  the  European  Parliament  for  an  exchange  of  views  on  TSI 
implementation. 

Public administration and governance 

On 25 October 2023, the Commission adopted a new Communication on Enhancing the 
European  Administrative  Space  (ComPAct),  which  proposed  concrete  actions  to  help 
public  administrations  meet  the  needs  of  people  and  businesses  across  Europe.  On 
7 December  2023,  Commissioner  Ferreira  presented 
the 
Competitiveness Council (Internal market and industry). 

the  ComPAct  at 

The ComPAct was a response to calls by the Member States, the European Parliament and 
the Committee of the Regions to the Commission to foster cooperation and policy dialogue 
as well as to help improve the capacity and the quality of public administrations at central, 
regional and local levels in the EU. The ComPAct also addresses Europeans’ expectations as 
expressed  in  the  Eurobarometer  survey  on  reforms  and  public  administrations 
launched  in  spring  2023  by  DG  REFORM.  Through  this  survey,  citizens  called  for  public 
administrations to become less bureaucratic, faster in delivering services, more transparent 
and  closer  to  the  people.  ComPAct  is  the  Commission’s  first  ever  comprehensive  set  of 
actions  to  support  the  modernisation  of  national  administrations  and  to  strengthen  their 
cross-country collaboration so that they can address common challenges together. 

The ComPAct’s objective is to foster cooperation and policy dialogue as well as to help 
improve the capacity and the quality of public administrations at central, regional 
and local levels in the EU. It proposes a strategic set of actions to enhance the European 
Administrative Space by promoting a common set of overarching principles underpinning the 
quality  of  public  administration  and  reinforcing  its  support  for  the  administrative 
modernisation of the Member States. 

Linked  to  the  ComPAct,  a  specific  new  TSI  flagship  initiative  -  the  Public  Administration 
Cooperation Exchange (PACE) – was launched in 2023. This initiative aims to promote peer-
learning and the exchange of best practices among civil servants of different Member States 
in order to strengthen administrative capacity, as well as policymaking and implementation 
skills. The close alignment between the ComPAct and the TSI helps maintain a strong policy 
focus  on  improving  the  operational  capacity  and  efficiency  of  Member  States’  public 
administrations. 

II.  The TSI 2023 cycle - facts and figures 

Launch of the TSI 2023 cycle 

The TSI cycle 2023 was launched during the TSI annual conference ‘Building Resilience 
of the Member States’, which took place online on 5 May 2022. The conference showcased 
how the TSI can support Member States with the successful design and implementation of 
resilience-enhancing  reforms,  in  particular  in  the  context  of  the  recent  crises  (COVID-19 

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pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine). It also presented the main priorities for the TSI in 
2023, notably: 

•  providing  continuous  support  to  the  implementation  of  recovery  and  resilience  plans 

• 

(RRPs); 
focusing support on selected EU priorities, through DG REFORM’s innovative concept of 
flagship projects, which are project concepts proactively proposed by the Commission to 
Member States; and 

•  encouraging the design and implementation of multi-country and multi-regional projects. 

The  conference  also  provided  the  opportunity  to  present  the  12  ‘flagship’  technical 
support  project  ideas,  put  forward  because  they  address  reform  needs  across  several 
Member States and are linked to top EU priorities which the Member States are in the process 
of implementing. As such, they aim to support Member States in achieving resilience and 
growth-enhancing reforms. 

Furthermore,  the  TSI  2022  flagship  initiative  ‘EU  Supervisory  Digital  Finance  Academy  to 
enhance the skills of the financial supervisory authorities’ was proposed again for the TSI 
2023 cycle. 

• 

TSI 2023 flagship technical support projects 
Integration of environmental dimensions in public finances – Implementing the ‘Do 
No Significant Harm’ (DNSH) principle in public funding programmes  

•  Accelerating permitting for renewable energy  
•  Support for Climate Adaptation 
•  ESG Risk Management for the Financial Sector 
•  Support for industrial ecosystems 
•  Migration and Talent Attraction 
•  Towards person-centred integrated care 
•  YOUTH FIRST – supporting children and youth wellbeing, education, training, social 

protection and labour prospects 

•  PACE – Public Administration Cooperation Exchange 
•  Enhancing the quality and use of tax information exchanged between Member 
States in the context of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC) 

•  Professionalization of public procurement personnel: fostering strategic 

methodologies, integrity and transparency 

•  Digital transformation for regional and local public administrations 

TSI 2023 requests for support 

By  31 October  2022,  27  Member  States  had  submitted  530  requests  for  technical 
support in response to the TSI 2023 general call, for a total amount of EUR 256 million, more 
than  double the  amount of funding  available. While all submitted requests were deemed 

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eligible5, seven were withdrawn by the requesting Member States during the  assessment 
phase. As a result, 523 requests were assessed for selection. 

DG REFORM has ensured through a well-defined decision-making process (see Annex 1) that 
projects are selected based on the assessment criteria defined in the TSI Regulation article 
9(5).  Requests  are  analysed  based  on  the  urgency,  breadth  and  depth  of  the  challenges 
identified, the support needs in respect of the policy areas concerned, as well as the analysis 
of  socioeconomic  indicators  and  institutional  and  general  administrative  capacity  of  the 
Member States concerned. Through an eligibility screening, DG REFORM also ensures that 
actions are eligible in accordance with article 8 of the TSI regulation. 

The Commission can support Member States with special measures in the event of urgent 
needs. Indeed, according to Article 12(7) of the TSI Regulation, DG REFORM can also adopt 
special measures in accordance with the objectives and actions set out in the TSI Regulation 
to provide technical support to national authorities in addressing urgent needs. Such special 
measures are interim in nature and linked to the specific  circumstances laid down in Article 
9(3), (inter alia, preparation or implementation of Recovery and resilience plans under the 
Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility,  reforms  in  the  context  of  economic  governance  process 
such as CSRs, implementation of Economic adjustment programmes). In 2023, DG REFORM 
did not support any special measure. 

DG REFORM consulted  the  other  Commission  departments/Directorates-General to ensure 
that the technical support provided under the TSI 2023 was aligned with EU policies, did not 
duplicate  other  EU  actions  and  funding,  and  complemented  and  built  on  other  EU 
programmes. 

More  broadly,  the  submitted  requests  addressed  support  needs  for  reforms  identified  in 
different circumstances, including Member States’ own reform priorities as well as reforms 
to tackle challenges identified through the EU’s economic governance process, as well as 
those linked to the implementation of EU priorities. 

5 The eligibility of requests is verified based on the criteria set out in the TSI Regulation, namely in Articles 8 
and 9. The eligibility of potential beneficiaries is also verified based on the criteria set out in the TSI Regulation, 
namely in Article 2. 

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

Implementation of Member States’ own reform 
priorities

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

Preparation, implementation and amendment of
Recovery and Resilience Plans

150

156

208

158

91

95

101

90

Implementation of Union law (e.g. infringements)

26

29

Implementation of Economic adjustment programmes

3

1

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Non-selected requests

Selected requests

Figure 3 - TSI 2023: Circumstances of Member States’ requests 

Following the assessment and selection process outlined in Annex 1, 231 requests covering 
key EU priorities were selected for EUR 119.7 million under the TSI 2023 general call, 
including6: 

•  90 requests related to the implementation of national RRPs; 
•  69 requests related to the digital transition; 
•  83 requests related to the European Green Deal; 
•  34 requests related to equality: support for women, people with disabilities, the Roma 

community, migrants, older people and the LGBTIQ+ community. 

The TSI 2023 support covered measures in all Member States. 

TSI 2023 projects 

Following the adoption of the Financing Decision and annual work programme on 21 March 
2023  setting  out  the  measures  needed  to  implement  the  TSI  20237,  the  231  selected 
requests  were  streamlined  into  151  projects,  as  multiple  requests  were  sometimes 
merged into a single project to take advantage of economies of scale, promote synergies 
and  facilitate  peer-learning  opportunities.  In  turn,  those  151  projects  supported  the  27 
Member States in preparing, designing and implementing 326 cutting-edge reforms8. 

6 A single request for technical support may contribute to several EU priorities. 
7 Commission Implementing Decision C(2023)1 786 of 20.3.2023 on the financing of the Technical Support 
Instrument and the adoption of the work programme for 2023. 
8 The total number of reforms supported for TSI 2023 is higher than the total number of supported projects 
and the total number of selected requests as multi-country projects and multi-country requests corresponded 
to multiple reforms in different Member States under TSI 2023. 

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Figure 4 - TSI 2023: Number of reforms supported in each Member State 

Interest by Member States in taking part in multi-country projects continued to rise in 2023, 
leading to a steep increase from two multi-country projects under TSI 2021 to 21 under TSI 
2022 and 34 multi-country projects under TSI 2023. Member States also demonstrated 
their  interest  in  strengthening  cooperation  at  regional  level  through  10  multi-regional 
projects. 

The public administration cooperation exchange (PACE) multi-country flagship project 
-  aimed  at  promoting  cooperation  and  cross-border  exchanges  among Member  States  to 
build  administrative  capacity  and  prepare  the  next  generation  of  policymakers  in  the 
European Union - saw significant take-up with the objective to implement 70 exchanges 
across 17 Member States for more than 300 participants. 

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Figure 5 - TSI 2021-2023: Change in the number of multi-country projects 

TSI 2023 projects included two multi-country projects supporting Member States’ industrial 
ecosystems  (EL, ES, FI, PT and SE) and  helping them accelerate  permitting for  renewable 
energy (LT and NL), with both projects contributing to fostering the competitiveness of 
the  EU  economy.  They  also  included  the  multi-country  project  Measuring  Citizen’s 
Satisfaction with Key Government Services for Better Performance and Enhanced Trust (AT, 
BE, EE, EL, ES, FI, HR, IE, LT, LV and SI), and the project ESG risk management framework for 
the  financial  sector  (BG,  CY,  EL,  FI,  FR,  HR,  IE,  IT,  LV,  RO  and  SI)  to  enhance  financial 
supervisors’  capacity  to  react  to  challenges  associated  with  environmental,  social  and 
governance (ESG) risks, and a project on Enhancing the quality and use of tax information 
exchanged  between  Member  States  in  the  context  of  the  Directive  on  Administrative 
Cooperation (DAC) in Croatia and Ireland. 

Figure 6 - TSI 2021-2023: Evolution of the number of projects with a regional/local dimension 

Over the years, an increasing share of TSI projects supported Member States in carrying out 
reforms at the regional and local level in line with EU priorities. For example, in 2023, the 
TSI supported 10 regions in 5 Member States in enhancing EU mining regional ecosystems 
to support the green transition and secure mineral raw materials supply. 

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Flagship projects 

TSI 2023 also showed a strong uptake of flagship projects compared to TSI 2022 when 
the concept was first introduced. Of the 151 TSI 2023 projects, 50 were linked to flagship 
projects, including in the fields of green, digital, energy, public administration, public finance, 
integration of migrants and healthcare. 

The  TSI  2023  call  also  gave  eight  new  beneficiary  authorities  from  Member  States  the 
opportunity to join the EU Supervisory Digital Finance Academy, originally designed under 
TSI 2022, bringing the total to 32 authorities from 25 Member States. 

RRP support 

The  TSI  has  been  supporting  the  implementation  of  reforms  and  investments 
included in the RRPs, across the policy areas of governance and public administration, 
digital,  sustainable  growth  and  business  environment,  labour  market,  health,  education, 
social services, revenue administration and public financial management, as well as in the 
financial sector. 

In 2023, 66% of the TSI 2023 projects were directly or indirectly linked to national 
recovery and resilience plans, helping Member States further increase their capacity to 
implement the RRPs, including RRP monitoring and project management methods, reporting 
mechanisms, audit and control frameworks, communication strategy, governance structures, 
IT systems and applying the ‘do no significant harm’ principle. 

FOCUS ON TSI PROJECTS WITH DIRECT LINKS TO THE RRPs 

Under TSI 2023, DG REFORM supported reform projects directly linked to the implementation 
of the RRPs. 

•  10 Member States (BE, BG, CY, ES, IE, LV, PT, RO, NL and SI) received general support 
for their RRP. A multi-country project on communicating the RRPs’ impact to the general 
public was, for example, officially launched on 27 November 2023 with representatives 
from eight beneficiary Member States (BE, BG, CY, ES, LV, NL, PT, and RO), DG REFORM, 
DG  COMM,  SG  RECOVER,  DG  ECFIN  and  the  European  Semester  Officers  from  all 
participating Member States. It aimed to strengthen the communication capacities of the 
Member States and provide  them with country-specific technical support measures to 
improve their communication on the benefits of their RRP. The project design was based 
on two successful RRP communication projects implemented in Slovakia and Czechia. 

•  16 Member States (BE, BG, CY, CZ, DK, EE, EL, HR, HU, IT, LV, MT, PL, PT, RO and SK) 
received  support  for  implementing  specific  reforms  and  investments  included  in  their 
RRPs.  Examples  include  support  for  institutionalising  the  new  academic  careers 
framework in Latvia, supporting businesses to achieve a higher level of digitalisation in 
Czechia, and support for optimising strategic plans to further develop e-health in Poland. 

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The  midterm  evaluation  of  the  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  (RRF)9  highlights  that: 
“Coherence  between  the  RRF  and  the  TSI  is  due  to  built-in  synergies  between  the  two 
instruments  and  the  alignment  of  their  assessment  criteria.  The  RRF  Regulation  actively 
promotes synergies between the RRF and TSI by enabling Member States to allocate up to 
4% of their total allocation to technical support in RRP implementation, an option used by 
four  Member  States.  The  alignment  of  the  assessment  criteria  of  the  RRF  and  of  TSIs 
emphasises that both instruments have the same policy objectives and that their priorities 
are aligned. For example, the relevance of CSRs is one of the assessment criteria used both 
for selecting TSI projects and for approving RRPs. The coherence of the two instruments is 
evident in the fact that over 400 projects approved under the TSI are linked to the preparation 
or  implementation  of  Member  States’  RRPs,  highlighting  the  crucial  role  of  TSIs  in  the 
Facility.”. 

Pilot for enlargement countries as observers 

In  the  context  of  the  Commission’s  political  priority  to  accelerate  the  integration  and 
accession process for enlargement countries10, DG REFORM and DG NEAR developed a TSI 
pilot to allow enlargement countries to be ‘observers’ of selected TSI projects in 2023. This 
was done with the agreement of the respective beneficiary authorities in the Member States 
and without the TSI funding their involvement. 

The  pilot  started  on  the  13 September  2023  with  the  participation  of  eight  enlargement 
countries,  namely  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Moldova,  North  Macedonia,  Albania,  Serbia, 
Türkiye,  Georgia  and  Kosovo11.  The  projects  selected  by  the  enlargement  countries  were 
primarily multi-country TSI projects. The public administrations involved both in enlargement 
countries and Member States welcomed the cooperation opportunities offered through the 
pilot. 

III.  Project execution 

The TSI requires the constant involvement of DG REFORM, from the  project design phase 
through to project implementation, monitoring and evaluation. 

DG REFORM is active from the early stages of project identification, with extensive outreach 
activities  addressed  to  national  authorities,  constant  interaction  between  DG  REFORM’s 
country coordinators and the corresponding coordinating authorities and meetings between 
DG REFORM senior managers and national authorities in each Member State. 

Once the TSI 2023 requests were selected and their methods of implementation decided, 
policy  officers  in  DG  REFORM  regularly  liaised  with  national  authorities  to  determine  the 
project  outputs  and  shape  the  related  activities  and  work  plans.  They  were  involved  as 
members in all related project teams, together with the selected providers, and cooperated 
in the daily management of the project. They also ensured smooth communication between 

9 Staff working document - Mid-term evaluation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (page 62). 
10 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Moldova, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Georgia 
and Kosovo. 
11  Montenegro  and  Ukraine  did  not  participate  in  the  pilot  due  to  limited  administrative  capacity  but  have 
expressed strong interest to participate in the future. 

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providers  and  national  authorities,  promoting  mutual  understanding  to  safeguard  the 
success of the projects. 

DG  REFORM  also  coordinated  work  with  other  Commission  departments  via  a  permanent 
network  of  representatives  of  other  Directorates-General.  This  was  to  ensure  that  the 
technical support provided with the TSI was aligned with EU policies, did not duplicate other 
projects,  and  complemented  and  built  on  other  EU  programmes  (including  by  facilitating 
access to technical expertise available within the Commission or easily mobilised by other 
EU programmes). 

Finally,  a  DG  REFORM  staff  member  was  included  in  each  project  steering  committee, 
together with senior officials from the national authorities, to ensure that projects continued 
to align with national priorities and adapted to the changing landscape, if necessary. The aim 
was to contribute to national reform agendas while striving for EU added value. 

IV.  Cooperation and support plans 

Cooperation and support plans12 were concluded with all 27 Member States in 2023 to 
set out the guiding principles and working methods for the support provided by the TSI. These 
were shared with the Council and the European Parliament in September 2023. Each plan 
describes the policy areas covered and the scope of support measures to be implemented 
for the Member State, as well as indicative timelines and estimated budgets.  It therefore 
gives  each  Member  State  a  strategic  overview  of  the  implementation  of  TSI  support 
measures at national and regional levels. 

In  2023,  these  plans  also  included  a  proposal  for  the  mandate  of  the  TSI  national 
coordinating authorities, describing their role at each step of the TSI cycle, including potential 
involvement  in  communication  and  evaluation  activities,  and  their  participation  in  a 
coordinating authorities network which is chaired by DG REFORM. In 2023, this network met 
five  times  (four  times  online  and  once  in  person  on  12 September  2023  in  Madrid).  The 
physical meeting in particular was an opportunity to underline the importance of the role of 
Member State’s coordinating authorities for a smooth-functioning TSI and to discuss how 
best to gather and coordinate ideas and stakeholders to build multi-country requests for the 
TSI. 

V.  Communication on the TSI 

The  Technical  Support  Instrument  is  unique  in  its  design  and  its  flexibility.  It  works  with 
national administrations to support the design and implementation of their reforms, for the 
benefit  of  individuals  and  businesses.  To  ensure  the  visibility  of  the  EU  funding,  DG 
REFORM  promotes  the  work  of  the  TSI  and  the  related  TSI  projects  and  their  results  in 
collaboration with the beneficiary authorities, the support providers and the representation 
offices  of  both  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Commission  in  each  Member  State. 
Communication activities via dedicated channels (the Reform support website, social media, 

12 As referred to in Article 9(5) of the TSI Regulation. 

14 

 
 
 
publications,  events,  and  so  on)  provide  targeted  information  to  multiple  audiences, 
including the media and the public. 

In  2023,  communication  activities  relating  to  the  TSI  and  to  policymaking  on  public 
administration  and  governance  became  more  results-oriented.  In  concrete  terms,  DG 
REFORM held the yearly TSI 2023 press conference on 21 March 2023 to mark the adoption 
of the TSI 2023 work programme. DG REFORM also organised the TSI annual conference 
on  a  ‘Public  Administration  fit  for  the  future  and  adaptable  to  change’  held  on 
25 May 2023. This conference marked the launch of the TSI 2024 cycle. Its TV-show format 
kept the 1 600 online participants engaged during the entire event. 

DG REFORM co-organised and/or participated in public events, both locally and online, in 
order  to  showcase  success  stories  and  disseminate  information  on  TSI  results.  These 
included: 

•  DG REFORM at the Delphi Economic Forum VIII, 26-29 April 2023 
•  Supporting skills development through reforms, 25 May 2023 
•  Tourism data sharing, governance and integration, 27-28 September 2023 
•  Science for policy in Europe, 10-11 October 2023 
•  Sustainable finance - COP 28 side event, 4 December 2023. 

Departing from the project-oriented approach of the early TSI years and focusing more on 
reforms and their impact on people’s lives, DG REFORM also increased its press activities 
through interviews and press events. 

The Reform Support website, browsed by more than 160 000 unique visitors in 2023, 
was also given a more user-friendly format to provide detailed information on reforms and 
reform projects by policy area and by country. By the end of December 2023, more than 
350 projects descriptions were online. 

In  line  with  the  transparency  requirement  set  out  in  Article 17  of  the  TSI  Regulation,  the 
Reform support website hosts a single online public repository of final studies or reports 
produced as part of the TSI support projects. The repository is searchable by year, topic and 
Member State, to help disseminate the different publications to a wide audience. At the end 
of December 2023, 45% of the closed TSI projects already had a final study available online. 

DG REFORM remained active on social media, with 3 500 followers on its @EU_reforms 
X (formerly Twitter) account while, at the same time, overhauling its YouTube DG REFORM 
channel with new content and original audiovisual products. DG REFORM also increased its 
internal  video  production  capacity  in  2023  and  produced  several  videos  to  support  the 
Project in the spotlight series. 

EU-wide communication campaigns and reports also often refer to the TSI as an important 
source of support for Member States to achieve their reform agenda, in line with EU priorities. 
The TSI was mentioned in this context seven times in the EU General Report 2023, with 
specific  references  to  the  work  done  to  support  the  RRPs,  the  Capital  Market  Union, 
RePowerEU, education and health. This report also included two references to the ComPAct 
communication. 

15 

 
 
VI.  Evaluation of the TSI 

DG REFORM assesses the support it provides to Member States both at programme level and 
at project level. The evaluation of the TSI programme and projects provides evidence of the 
achievements for Member States and for people on the ground. It is important to share those 
results  with  our  stakeholders  and  the  wider  public  to  demonstrate  that  EU  action  brings 
positive change. 

The  ex post  evaluation  of  the  Structural  Reform  Support  Programme  (SRSP  ex post),  the 
predecessor to the TSI, was published in October 2023. This evaluation provided key insights 
into the design, implementation and effects of technical support projects implemented by 
DG REFORM (and the Structural Reform Support Service). According to the report, the SRSP’s 
general objective of supporting institutional, administrative and growth-sustaining structural 
reforms in the Member States was successfully achieved. The SRSP was found to be a highly 
relevant  instrument  well-tailored  to  enhancing  the  administrative  capacities  of  Member 
States to design and implement reforms and address challenges. Key factors included the 
strong involvement of the national administrations and their ownership of projects. 

In 2023, DG REFORM started preparations for launching the midterm evaluation of the TSI, 
in line with Article 16  of  the  TSI Regulation. This evaluation will  be delivered by  February 
2025 and is expected to play an important role in shaping the future of the programme for 
the next  multiannual financial  framework. Besides assessing the early implementation of 
the  TSI  along  the  five  mandatory  better  regulation  evaluation  criteria  (effectiveness, 
efficiency,  relevance,  coherence  and  EU  added  value),  the  midterm  evaluation  will  also 
analyse the long-term effects and sustainability of the predecessor programme, the SRSP. 

In addition to  the programme-level evaluation, DG REFORM has put in place a two-stage 
procedure  to  collect  evaluation data on all TSI  technical  support projects. The  first  stage, 
beginning  shortly  after  project  closure,  will  assess  the  level  of  satisfaction  of  the  main 
stakeholders involved in the project design and delivery. The second stage, at least 1 year 
after project closure, will assess the extent to which the project has delivered on its expected 
outcomes. 

During  2023,  DG  REFORM  received  satisfaction  questionnaires  completed  by  beneficiary 
authorities  for  94  TSI  projects,  i.e.  a  72%  response  rate.  Feedback  from  beneficiary 
authorities indicates an average satisfaction rating of 9 out of 10 for the support provided 
by DG REFORM and 8.7 out of 10 for the success of the projects. While project duration can 
vary, it takes an average of 24 months to complete a TSI project. As such, it is still too early 
to provide an assessment of projects’ achievements on the ground. 

THE  TSI  AS  A  KEY  INSTRUMENT  TO  SUPPORT  EU 
COMPETITIVENESS 

European businesses drive Member States’ economies, creating jobs, cohesion, innovation 
and  prosperity.  Yet  supply  chain  disruptions  and  high  inflation  at  the  back  of  the  recent 
successive crises have accentuated longer-standing concerns about weak productivity 
and competitiveness in the EU. The Commission responded to these challenges, among 

16 

 
 
others,  with  the  European  industrial  strategy,  the  Green  Deal  industrial  plan,  a 
Communication  on  long-term  competitiveness  and  initiatives  to  strengthen  the  EU’s 
economic security. As the President emphasised in her State of the Union address, ‘Europe 
will do “whatever it takes” to keep its competitive edge.’ 

This  section  provides  an  overview  of  DG  REFORM’s  support  to  Member  States  on 
competitiveness during 2023, structured along the nine competitiveness drivers identified 
in  the  ‘Single  Market  at  30’  Communication  and  the  2024  annual  single  market  and 
competitiveness report (see Figure 3). To provide effective support to Member States aligned 
with EU priorities, DG REFORM collaborated closely on the support projects with the relevant 
Directorates-General of the Commission, including CLIMA, CNECT, COMP, DIGIT, EAC, ENER, 
ENV, ECFIN, EMPL, ESTAT, FISMA, GROW, HOME, JRC, MOVE, REGIO, RTD, SG RECOVER, SG, 
TAXUD and TRADE. 

17 

 
 
 
Figure 7 - Examples of TSI Support in 2023 on the nine competitiveness drivers 

18 

 
 
 
I.  Functioning single market 

DG  REFORM’s  support  to  Member  States  helps  them  to  increase  their  capacity  to  deliver 
reforms for a functioning single market and competitiveness. The support covers a wide 
range  of  policy  areas,  ranging  from  industry  and  innovation  to  transport  and  the  digital 
transition. 

FOCUS ON FLAGSHIP INITIATIVES 

In 2023, DG REFORM engaged in two flagship initiatives in the area of the single market 
and competitiveness: 

•  Seven Member States (HR, EL, IT, MT, PT, SI and ES) received support under the TSI 
2022 flagship initiative on a more sustainable, resilient and digital tourism 
ecosystem. As part of these projects, DG REFORM and DG GROW held a two-day expert 
workshop  on  tourism  data  sharing,  governance  and  integration  in  September  2023, 
which gathered around 300 participants from three continents. 

•  11  Member  States (CY, DK, FI, GR, LV, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES and SE) received  support 
under  the  TSI  2023  flagship  initiative  on  strengthening  EU  industrial 
ecosystems  focusing  on  industrial  strategies,  national  market  surveillance  and 
intellectual  property  systems,  as  well  as  on  reskilling  and  upskilling  the  industrial 
workforce. 

In 2023, DG REFORM provided support to 26 Member States (AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, EE, 
EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI and SK), including under TSI flagship 
projects,  to:  (i)  develop  their  industrial  strategies  and  improve  their  national  market 
surveillance  and  intellectual  property  systems;  (ii)  promote  sustainable,  resilient  and  digital 
tourism ecosystem; and (iii) accelerate the digital transition. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

Specific examples of reforms and capacity building in the area of single market and 
competitiveness in 2023 with TSI support include the following: 

•  Croatia set up a digital platform for the SME Test and adopted new legislation for the 

regulatory impact assessment. 

•  The Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy) approved new legislation adopting the 

risk-based approach for administrative procedures, including inspections. 

•  Slovenia  improved  its  research  and  innovation  system  by  putting  in  place  a  new 
governance  model,  including  an  inter-ministerial  programme  board  for  strategic 
initiatives. 

•  Romania adopted new national legislation to better align its framework on corporate 

governance of State-owned enterprises with the OECD guidelines. 

19 

 
 
 
II.  Access to private capital 

DG REFORM’s support helps to improve Member States’ capabilities to execute reforms that 
facilitate access to much-needed private capital for driving digital and sustainable 
transformations.  The  support  covered  a  wide  range  of  policy  areas,  including  the  Capital 
Markets Union, the Banking Union and the implementation of the digital finance strategy and 
the EU sustainable finance framework. 

FOCUS ON FLAGSHIP INITIATIVES 
In 2023, DG REFORM engaged in two flagship initiatives on access to private capital: 

•  12 national supervisory authorities from 11 Member States (BG, HR, CY, FI, FR, EL, IE, 
IT,  LV,  RO  and  SI)  received  support  under  the  TSI  2023  flagship  initiative  on 
environmental  social  governance  (ESG)  risk  management  for  the  financial 
sector,  to  address  the  need  for  effective  ESG  supervision  and  help  to  steer  capital 
towards the green economy. 

•  34 financial supervisory authorities from 25 Member States received support through 
the TSI 2022 flagship initiative on EU Supervisory Digital Finance Academy to 
enhance their supervisory capacity in the area of digital finance, in line with the digital 
finance strategy.  

In 2023, DG REFORM helped all 27 Member States to expand their investment opportunities 
and to build a more stable, resilient and competitive financial system, necessary for increasing 
private investment. DG REFORM provided recommendations and helped Member States to put 
in place a strategic approach on developing local capital markets. This consisted of developing 
policies to make the transition to a sustainable economy, modernising insolvency frameworks, 
boosting the supervisory capacities of national authorities through digitalisation, supervisory 
convergence, supporting the development of both the private and public investors bases and 
improving the financial literacy of people and businesses. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

Specific examples of reforms and capacity building on access to private capital in 
2023 with TSI support include the following: 

•  Romania, Croatia, Poland and Malta enhanced the capacity of their financial sector 
supervisors  and  achieved  convergence  by  working  together  to  develop  disclosure 
supervision  practices  and  arrangements  for  reporting  on  sustainable  finance 
requirements. The aim of this collaboration was to create a more stable and predictable 
environment for sustainable investments by private sector companies. 

•  Bulgaria  and  Greece  developed  in-depth  analyses  and  recommendations  aimed  at 
developing  their  capital  markets.  The  aim  was  to  improve  market  efficiency,  foster 
investor confidence and facilitate broader access to finance for businesses. 

•  Estonia and Latvia jointly developed their approach to implementing the EU taxonomy 
and  sustainable  finance  strategy,  aligning  their  financial  and  non-financial  sectors 

20 

 
 
more  closely  with  sustainable  investment  goals  and  enhancing  the  green  finance 
market in both countries. 

•  Greece,  Poland  and  Portugal  developed  their  financial  education  strategies  to 

empower consumers to make informed decisions about their investments. 

III.  Public investment and infrastructure 

DG REFORM’s support to Member States helps them boost their capacity to deliver reforms on 
public investment management and infrastructure governance. The support covers a 
wide  range  of  policy  areas,  taking  both  a  cross-cutting  and  a  sector-specific  angle,  from 
optimising public investment management practices to enhancing infrastructure planning to 
deliver on the green and digital transition. 

FOCUS ON FLAGSHIP INITIATIVES 

In  2023,  DG  REFORM  engaged  in  two  flagship  initiatives  on  public  investment  and 
infrastructure: 

•  Eight Member States (AT, BE, HU, IT, LV, SK, SI and ES) received support under the 
TSI  2023  flagship  initiative  on  application  of  the  DNSH  principle  to  public 
investments  from  EU  and  national  funds  and  programmes,  including  from  the 
Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  (RRF).  Another  three  Member  States  (FI,  CZ  and  PL) 
received such support under TSI 2022. 

•  Seven Member States (IT, EL, NL, MT, BE, PL and SK) received support under the TSI 
2022  flagship  initiative  to  promote  sustainable  urban  mobility,  including 
through  the  uptake  of  zero  and  low  emission  vehicles  and  the  implementation  of 
sustainable urban mobility plans. 

In 2023, DG REFORM provided support to 20 Member States (AT, BE, BG, CZ, DE, EL, ES, FI, 
HU, IE, IT, LT, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK and SI), including under TSI flagship initiatives, to: (i) 
optimise the allocation of public funds; (ii) ensure their efficient utilisation and alignment with 
overarching  EU  and  national  policy  objectives,  such  as  the  Green  Deal;  (iii)  strengthen  the 
institutional capabilities of Member States in project planning, execution and evaluation; and 
(iv) develop and improve public infrastructure in areas such as energy, transport and digital 
connectivity.  Through  this  support,  DG REFORM aimed  to  elevate  the  quality  and  impact  of 
public investments for sustainable growth and resilience in the EU. 

21 

 
 
 
 
ACHIEVEMENTS 

Specific examples of  reforms on public investments and infrastructure completed in 
2023 with TSI support include the following: 

• 

Ireland  revised  its  capital  appraisal  guidelines  to  speed  up  delivery  of  its  national 
development plan. 

•  Greece improved its IT system and reporting mechanisms aimed at streamlining the 
monitoring  of  the  public  investment  budget.  It  also  prepared  an  extensively  revised 
legislative framework to present to Parliament in 2024. 

•  Slovakia  launched  an  investment  management  reform  aimed  at  increasing  the 
economic  value  of  newly  implemented  investment  projects  and  obtaining  a  higher 
return on every euro. 

•  Belgium  set  up  a  Study  Committee  on  Public  Investments  to  prepare  reports  and 
opinions on the trends, needs, implementation and consequences of public investment 
and the TSI is supporting its operationalisation. 

•  Romania  published  guidelines  on  public-private  partnerships  to  support  local  and 

national authorities to successfully launch and implement investment projects. 

•  Greece  adopted  a  strategy  and  a  roadmap  for  introducing  building  information 
modelling (BIM) in public infrastructure projects. This will lead to significant cost savings 
and a better use of resources. 

•  Belgium’s Port of Antwerp adopted measures to improve inland navigation and traffic 

conditions in the Antwerp port area with TSI support. 

IV.  Research and innovation 

DG REFORM’s support to Member States boosts their capacity to deliver reforms for enhanced 
research and innovation. It has also helped them achieve the objectives of the Commission 
Communication  on  a  new  Research  Area  for  Research  and  Innovation13  and  of  the 
European  Strategy  for  Universities14.  The  support  covers  a  wide  range  of  policy  areas, 
ranging from decarbonisation and digitalisation to demographics. It includes the promotion of 
strategies, policies and tools to promote new knowledge and breakthrough innovation that will 
drive  the  green  and  digital  transformations.  It  also  includes  the  re-engineering  of  national 
research and innovation institutions. 

In 2023, DG REFORM provided support to 16 Member States (BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FR, HR, 
HU, IT, LV, NL, PL, PT, SI and SK) on research and innovation, which created opportunities to 
modernise higher education to better address labour market needs and boost knowledge 
exchange  between  universities,  research  and  businesses.  Evidence-based 
policymaking  was  also  strengthened  through  facilitating  peer  learning,  partnerships  and 

13 COM(2020) 628 final. 
14 COM(2022) 16 final. 

22 

 
 
 
policy  experimentation.  This  helped  to  potentially  create  long-term  benefits  in  the  area  of 
competitiveness, social progress and sustainable economic development. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

Specific examples of reforms and capacity building  on research and innovation in 
2023 with TSI support include the following: 

•  Latvia developed a new academic career model in line with international good practice 

and is currently receiving help with its implementation. 

• 

Italy  created  a  dynamic  and  robust  framework  for  knowledge  exchange  and 
cooperation. 

•  Hungary  made  its  quality  assurance  system  for  higher  education  more  fit  for  the 

digital age. 

•  Spain  improved  the  scope,  quality  and  efficiency  of  knowledge  exchange  between 

universities, research institutes and businesses. 

•  Croatia assessed the digital readiness of higher education institutions. 

•  Slovenia  enhanced  its  research  and  innovation  system  by  putting  in  place  a  new 
governance  model  that  encourages  collaboration  among  relevant  administrations 
responsible for R&I policies to better align their plans. 

•  Cyprus  improved  the  capacity  of  its  Broadband  Competence  Office  of  the  Deputy 
Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and created a voucher scheme and 
technical specifications for tendering out investments. 

V.  Energy 

DG REFORM’s support to Member States boosts their capacity to deliver energy reforms. 
The support covers a wide range of policy areas, ranging from sourcing renewable energy to 
the Just Transition and energy efficiency. 

FOCUS ON FLAGSHIP INITIATIVES 

In 2023, DG REFORM engaged in  three  flagship  initiatives  on the single market and 
competitiveness: 
•  Six Member States (CY, SK, FI, NL, LT and IE) received support under the TSI 2023 
flagship initiative on accelerating permitting for renewable energy projects. 
DG  REFORM  worked  to  create  clearer,  faster  and  more  transparent  processes  for 
applying for and granting permits for renewable energy projects, in line with applicable 
EU legislation and upcoming EU initiatives. 

•  Five Member States (IT, SE, HR, HU and SK) received support under the  TSI 2022 
flagship  initiative  to  support  the  implementation  of  a  Just  Transition.  DG 
REFORM  helped  Member  States  to  address  specific  challenges  in  the  regions  and 
sectors affected by the transition. 

23 

 
 
•  Eight Member States (BE, CY, EE, HU, IE, LT, MT and SK) received support under the 
TSI 2022 flagship initiative to support the Renovation Wave. DG REFORM helped 
Member States address some of the key barriers to building renovation. 

In 2023, DG REFORM provided support to 23 Member States (AT, BE, BG, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, 
EL,  HR,  HU,  IE,  LV,  LT,  MT,  NL,  PL,  PT,  RO,  SK,  SI,  ES  and  SE),  including  under  TSI  flagship 
initiatives,  to  accelerate  permits  for  renewable  energy  projects;  to  support  the 
implementation of the Just Transition; and to support the Renovation Wave. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

Specific  examples  of  reforms  and  capacity  building  on  the  single  market  and 
competitiveness in 2023 with TSI support include the following: 
• 

In  the  immediate  aftermath  of  Russia’s  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine,  the  TSI 
supported 17 Member States (BE, BG, CY, CZ, EE, EL, ES, FI, HR, HU, IE, IT, PL, PT, RO, 
SI and SK) in identifying reforms and investments to reduce dependencies on fossil fuel 
imports from Russia and implement the REPowerEU plan. 

•  Slovenia  adopted  a  law  on  the  deployment  of  installations  for  the  generation  of 

electricity from renewable energy sources. 

•  Romania endorsed its Hydrogen Strategy and Action Plan for 2030. 

•  Romania submitted its draft long-term strategy for reducing greenhouse gas 

emissions for public consultation. 

•  Lithuania approved an excise duty law introducing a carbon tax on polluting fuels. 

VI.  Circularity 

DG REFORM’s support to Member States boosts their capacity to deliver reforms to move 
towards a more circular and competitive economy. The support covers, among others, 
waste management and critical raw materials. 

In 2023, DG REFORM provided support to 11 Member States (AT, CZ, DK, EL, ES, FI, HU, IT, 
PT, RO and SE), including under a TSI flagship initiative, to: (i) develop national circular economy 
strategies,  action  plans  and  monitoring  mechanisms;  (ii)  build  a  knowledge  base  for  the 
transition of SMEs; (iii) introduce regulations for waste management; (iv) create a data set 
and  planning  tool  for  raw  material  flows  and  stocks;  and  (v)  enhance  the  circularity  of 
mining. 

Specific examples of reforms and capacity building on circularity in 2023 with TSI 
support include the following: 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

24 

 
 
•  Romania adopted a circular economy strategy, a circular economy action plan and a 
corresponding  monitoring  plan.  Furthermore,  Romania  passed  new  secondary 
legislation on the calculation of waste tariffs in order to incentivise more circularity. 

•  Spain  provided  municipalities  with  communication  materials  and  capacity-building 

tools to improve the circularity of waste management. 

VII.  Digitalisation 

DG REFORM’s support to Member States  contributes to their digital transformation, aligning 
with the Commission priority of a Europe fit for the digital age and achieving the targets 
of the Digital Decade. The digitalisation of public administration is essential for individuals 
and businesses  to prepare the ground for  a competitive EU economy.  The support covers a 
wide  range  of  policy  areas,  ranging  from  interoperability,  artificial  intelligence  (AI)  and 
business process re-engineering and data-informed decision making to digital skills. 

FOCUS ON FLAGSHIP INITIATIVES 

In 2023, DG REFORM engaged in two flagship initiatives on digital transformation: 

•  Nine Member States (DK, IT, EL, LV, PT, SK, CY, IE and NL) received support under the 
TSI 2022 flagship initiatives on the development of resilient, innovative and 
human-centric digital government services. The projects help to set-up strategies 
and action plans that will help achieve the digital transition of the EU public sector. 

•  Four  Member  States  (PT,  ES,  DK  and  RO)  received  support  under  the  TSI  2023 
flagship  initiative  on  digital  transformation  for  regional  and  local  public 
administrations.  For  example,  Denmark  received  support  on  developing  tools  for 
assessing risks in AI projects undertaken by local, regional and national authorities. This 
involves building a repository of existing AI use cases within the Danish administration, 
with the aim of fostering reusability both nationally and in the European context.  

In  2023,  DG  REFORM  provided  support  to  all  Member  States,  including  under  TSI  flagship 
initiatives,  to  progress  with  their  digitalisation  and  improve  digital  service  delivery,  data-
management, employing AI and ensuring system interoperability. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

Specific examples of reforms and capacity building on digitalisation in 2023 with TSI 
support include the following: 

•  Slovakia took a comprehensive approach to enhancing digital government services by 
integrating AI and the eIDAS framework for digital identification. It adopted strategies 
for  data  governance,  digital-ready  legislation  and  institutional  design,  including 
considerations for human resources and technologies, security and financial impacts 
of both EU and national digital legislation. 

•  Finland optimised efforts to digitalise the judiciary and improve operational efficiency 

by implementing an ICT governance strategy. 

25 

 
 
• 

Italy put in place a new organisational structure and adapted business processes at 
the Ministry of Economy and Finance with the help of comprehensive support measures 
focusing on change management and culture change. 

•  Portugal developed, with the involvement of over 400 stakeholders, a National Smart 

Cities Strategy under the country’s ‘Action Plan for Digital Transition’. 

VIII.  Education and skills 

DG REFORM’s support to Member States contributed to boosting their education, skills and 
talent attraction policies aimed at ensuring a skilled workforce. The support enhanced their 
capacity  to  design  and  implement  reforms  to  lay  the  foundations  for  inclusive  skills 
development  from  an  early  age  and  to  provide  systematic  upskilling  and  reskilling 
opportunities,  including  for  disadvantaged  groups.  Additional  reforms  were  also  aimed  at 
attracting talent from outside the EU. 

FOCUS ON FLAGSHIP INITIATIVES 

In 2023, DG REFORM launched two flagship initiatives on education and skills: 

•  10 Member States (AT, CY, CZ, ES, FI, IE, LV, PL, PT and SI) received support under the 
TSI  2023  flagship  initiative  ‘Youth  FIRST’  which aims to underpin reforms that 
improve  educational,  health  and  social  outcomes  for  children  and  young  people. 
Support covers key areas for the future European workforce, such as access to inclusive 
and quality education and training and support for upskilling and reskilling. 

•  Seven Member States (BE, CY, DK, ES, MT, NL and SE) received support under the TSI 
2023 flagship initiative ‘Migrant integration and talent attraction’ targeted at 
Member  States  wishing 
the  social  and  economic  gains 
of enhanced integration, labour market participation and labour mobility for 
third country nationals in a context of deepening skills shortages and growing 
global competition for talent. 

to  benefit  from 

In 2023, DG REFORM provided support to all 27 Member States through individual, multi-
country and TSI flagship projects to improve the quality and labour market relevance of school 
education,  vocational  education  and  training,  higher  education,  adult  education,  as  well  as 
systems for reskilling and upskilling, to ensure high quality in the teaching workforce, to retain 
and attract skilled workers from outside the EU, to accelerate the recognition of foreign skills 
and qualifications and to facilitate access to high-quality early childhood education and care 
so parents can work outside the home. 

Specific examples of reforms and capacity building to increase competitiveness by 
investing in education and skills in 2023 with TSI support include the following: 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

26 

 
 
•  France  implemented  a  new  generation  of  campuses  of  excellence  in  vocational 
education  and  training  with  a  focus  on  improving  labour  market  relevance,  using 
guidance developed through a TSI project. 

• 

In Belgium, the Walloon government developed upskilling partnerships among adult 
training  providers  seeking  to  develop  joint  training  courses  and  cooperation 
arrangements. 

•  Malta  updated  its  quality  assurance  framework  of  schools,  using  a  revised  set  of 

standards that combine self-assessment of schools with external inspection. 

•  Estonia integrated its systems of formal education and non-formal learning (including 
youth activities) to allow  young people develop skills through more  flexible learning 
pathways. 

•  Spain began developing a strategy to facilitate labour market inclusion and attraction 

for people from other countries, including through the use of a digital platform. 

IX.  Trade and open strategic autonomy 

DG REFORM’s support to Member States boosts their capacity to deliver reforms for trade 
and open strategic autonomy. Support in this area includes the development of strategies, 
policies and tools to facilitate foreign investments, reduce dependencies, promote competition 
and enhance economic security and resilience. 

In 2023, DG REFORM provided support to eight Member State (EL, ES, FI, LV, PL, PT, RO and 
SE) to develop and enhance the resilience of their industrial ecosystems, mitigate the reliance 
to essential resources and promote more resilient supply chains. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

Specific examples of reforms and capacity building on trade and strategic autonomy 
in 2023 with TSI support include the following: 

•  Spain  created  a  permanent  working  group  on  strategic  supply  crisis  in  its  national 

security system. 

•  Croatia strengthened the strategic framework for promotion and facilitation of Foreign 

Direct Investment. 

Overall, in 2023, DG REFORM effectively supported Member States in key reforms and capacity 
building  on  competitiveness.  However,  in  future,  Member  States  will  continue  to  face 
significant challenges in building a more competitive and resilient economic base that is fit for 
the green and digital transitions.  

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CONCLUSION 

In  2023,  DG  REFORM  stepped  up  its  communication  activities  to  make  national  authorities 
aware  of  the  opportunities  available  under  the  TSI  and  further  increase  accountability  of 
support provided through this instrument. This led to the receipt of 530 high-quality requests 
for support in the TSI 2023 cycle, a total which again exceeded the programme’s capacity and 
was  testament  to  the  national  authorities’  interest  in  the  opportunities  offered  by  this 
instrument. 

Following  the  assessment  and  selection  process,  231  requests  were  selected  for 
EUR 119.7 million under the TSI 2023 general call, leading to the design of 151 projects 
to  support  326  cutting-edge  reforms  in  all  Member  States.  30%  of  the  231  selected 
requests were related to the digital transition, and 35% were related to the European Green 
Deal. Furthermore 66% of the 151 TSI 2023 projects are directly or indirectly linked to national 
recovery and resilience plans. 

The steep increase in multi-country projects over the last 3 years is an indicator of the 
capacity of the TSI to bring further ‘EU added value’ and to facilitate the exchange of good 
practices  and  mutual  learning  opportunities  among  national  administrations.  The  TSI  2023 
also showed a strong uptake of TSI flagship projects compared to TSI 2022 when the 
concept was first introduced. 

DG REFORM supported Member States with the implementation of the TSI projects, including 
those from previous cycles, ensuring these were successful and that their outputs remained in 
line with Member States’ objectives. The projects covered a wide range of policy areas, in line 
in  this  report,  was 
with  requests  by  national  authorities.  One  area,  highlighted 
competitiveness, for which all 27 Member States received support, ranging from support for 
a  functioning  single  market  to  public  investment  and  infrastructure,  digitalisation  and 
education and skills. 

The  adoption  in  October  2023  of  the  Communication  on  Enhancing  the  European 
Administrative  Space 
(ComPAct),  which  proposes  concrete  actions  to  help  public 
administrations meet the needs of people and businesses across Europe, strengthens the role 
the TSI can play in helping national administrations build capacity to design and implement 
reforms and to exchange best practices, in particular through the PACE TSI flagship project. 

Based on feedback received from beneficiary authorities at project level and from coordinating 
authorities at country level, Member States appreciated the support provided through the 
TSI, in particular the active role they can play in designing and implementing projects and the 
effective communication by DG REFORM. 

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Annex 1 – The TSI annual cycle 

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Annex 2 – 2023 TSI general call: requests by Member State 

30