Article 1 Establishment and duration of the Programme
This Regulation establishes the Structural Reform Support Programme (‘the Programme’) for the period from 20 May 2017 to 31 December 2020.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘beneficiary Member State’ means a Member State that receives support from the Union under the Programme; (2) ‘Union funds’ means the European Structural and Investment Funds referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, the Fund for the European Aid to the Most Deprived, established by Regulation (EU) No 223/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 10 ) , the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund established by Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 11 ) , the instrument for financial support for police cooperation, preventing and combating crime, and crisis management established as part of the Internal Security Fund, by Regulation (EU) No 513/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 12 ) , and the instrument for financial support for external borders and visa established, as part of the Internal Security Fund, by Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 13 ) ; (3) ‘national authority’ means one or more national authorities, including authorities at regional and local levels, cooperating in a spirit of partnership in accordance with the Member States' institutional and legal framework; (4) ‘international organisation’ means an international public-sector organisation set up by an international agreement, as well as specialised agencies set up by such an organisation, within the meaning of point (c)(ii) of Article 58(1) of the Financial Regulation; organisations assimilated with an international organisation are considered to be international organisations in line with the Financial Regulation; (5) ‘European organisations’ means the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, as referred to in point (c)(iii) of Article 58(1) of the Financial Regulation.
Article 3 European added value
1. The Programme shall finance actions and activities with European added value. To that effect, the Commission shall ensure that actions and activities selected for funding are likely to produce results which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, have European added value, and shall monitor whether European added value is actually achieved. 2. Actions and activities of the Programme shall ensure European added value in particular through: (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; (e) the promotion of mutual trust between beneficiary Member States and the Commission and of cooperation among Member States.
Article 4 General objective
The general objective of the Programme shall be to contribute to institutional, administrative and growth-sustaining structural 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, and investment, in particular in the context of economic governance processes, including through assistance for the efficient, effective and transparent use of the Union funds.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 has been running since 20 May 2017 with a budget of EUR 142.8 million. 1 It was established with the objective of strengthening the capacity of Member States to prepare and implement growth-sustaining administrative and structural reforms, including through the use of assistance for the efficient and effective use of the Union funds. Support under the Programme is provided by the Commission, upon request by a Member State, and can cover a wide range of policy areas. Since the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation entered into force, there has been a very high take-up of the programme by Member States, with requests for support significantly exceeding the amount of funding available for its annual cycles. This is borne out by data for the 2017 cycle where, despite the late adoption of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, 271 requests for support were submitted by 16 Member States for an estimated amount of over EUR 80 million in total, compared with an allocation of EUR 22.5 million for 2017. This led to a strong prioritisation effort by the Commission, resulting in several requests not being selected for funding. The situation is even more acute for the 2018 cycle, which has just been launched (the deadline for submitting requests was 31 October 2017). 444 requests for support were submittted by 24 Member States and the total estimated cost of such requests is approximatly EUR 152 million, compared with the allocation for 2018 of EUR 30.5 million. This demonstrates clearly that the support needs on the ground and the interest for support from Member States goes well beyond the currently available financial resources of the Programme. The experience to date has shown that many Member States have requested support under the Programme, and that requests for support are distributed across all support policy areas covered by the Programme, such as governance and public administration, revenue administration and public financial management, growth and business environment, labour market, education, health and social services, the financial sector and access to finance. As indicated by President Juncker in his Address (and annexed Letter of Intent) to the European Parliament on 13 September 2017 on the State of the Union, 2 the euro is meant to be the single currency of the Union as a whole and, therefore, ultimately all but two Member States are required and entitled to join the euro area. There is thus a clear need to think ahead and support non-euro area Member States in preparing for their euro accession when they so desire. In order to be able to join the euro area, Member States must meet the “Maastricht” or “convergence criteria”, which indicate that they have achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence . The economic and financial crisis has demonstrated that, beyond nominal convergence, achieving real convergence and having resilient economies built on robust economic structures, which allow Member States to efficiently absorb shocks and swiftly recover from them, are crucial for ensuring successful participation in the euro area. This requires, in particular, that Member States have the capacity to manage their budgets in accordance with the principles of sound public financial management and are institutionally ready to participate in the Banking Union. Beyond this, properly functioning labour and product markets, which are able to absorb external shocks, a high degree of integration in terms of trade in goods and services, and a well-functioning public administration are of prime importance for successful integration into the euro area. Against the background of (i) the higher financing needs for the provision of support for the implementation of structural reforms, and (ii) the need to support Member States that intend to adopt the euro in accelerating the process of real convergence and developing more resilient economic and social structures to ensure their smooth participation in the Economic and Monetary Union, the Commission is committed, as a first step, to reinforcing the budget of the Structural Reform Support Programme by EUR 80 million for the period 2019-2020. This should be achieved by using the Flexibility Instrument under Article 11 of the current Multiannual Financial Framework. 3 This would bring the overall financial envelope of the Structural Reform Support Programme to EUR 222.8 million. The increase would not only allow the demand for support stemming from the non-euro area Member States, which want to adopt the euro and need to implement reforms in their economies, to be satisfied, but would also allow for the increased number and cost of requests for support for the implementation of administrative and structural reforms to be catered for. This additional budget would be supplemented by inviting Member States to make use of the possibility, under Article 11 of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, of transferring part of their resources from the technical assistance component of the European Structural and Investment Funds to the Structural Reform Support Programme, for the purpose of provision of support for the implementation of reforms, including reforms linked to euro adoption. Based on current estimates of possible needs for support, this supplement would increase the total amount of the budget available for support to EUR 300 million, thus doubling the support capacity by 2020. The support would offer tailor-made assistance for the implementation of all policies that help the Member States achieve a high degree of sustainable convergence. The support will be offered notably in the areas of the business environment, the financial sector, labour and product markets, the public administration and public financial management. The most important reforms needed to foster sustainable real convergence will be highlighted in the context of the European Semester. In a dedicated work stream, those Member States wishing to make progress towards joining the euro area would agree, in dialogue with the Commission, on a limited set of reform commitments that are of particular importance for successful euro area membership. These reform commitments would also be reflected in the National Reform Programmes of the Member States concerned. The Commission through the Structural Reform Support Service would conclude a new Cooperation and Support Plan with the Member States concerned, focussing on providing technical support for the implementation of reform commitments linked to euro adoption. This arrangement would be fully voluntary and would be offered without any co-financing from the beneficiary Member States.
Revised version (Article 4 General objective):
The general objective of the Programme shall be to contribute to institutional, administrative and growth-sustaining structural 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.
Article 5 Specific objectives and scope of the Programme
1. To achieve the general objective set out in Article 4, the Programme shall have the following specific objectives to be pursued in close cooperation with beneficiary Member States: (a) to support the initiatives of national authorities to design their reforms according to their priorities, taking into account initial conditions and expected socioeconomic impacts; (b) to support the national authorities in enhancing their capacity to formulate, develop and implement reform policies and strategies and in pursuing an integrated approach ensuring consistency between goals and means across sectors; (c) to support the efforts of national authorities to define and implement appropriate processes and methodologies by taking into account good practices of and lessons learned by other countries in addressing similar situations; (d) to assist the national authorities in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of human-resource management, inter alia, by strengthening professional knowledge and skills and setting out clear responsibilities. 2. The specific objectives set out in paragraph 1 shall refer to policy areas related to cohesion, competitiveness, productivity, innovation, smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth, jobs and investment, in particular to one or more of the following: (a) public financial and asset management, budget process, debt management and revenue administration; (b) institutional reform and efficient and service-oriented functioning of public administration, including, where appropriate, through the simplification of rules, effective rule of law, reform of the justice systems and reinforcement of the fight against fraud, corruption and money laundering; (c) business environment (including for SMEs), re-industrialisation, private sector development, investment, public participation in enterprises, privatisation processes, trade and foreign direct investment, competition and public procurement, sustainable sectoral development and support for innovation and digitalisation; (d) education and training; labour market policies, including social dialogue, for the creation of jobs; the fight against poverty; the promotion of social inclusion; social security and social welfare systems; public health and healthcare systems; as well as cohesion, asylum, migration and border policies; (e) policies for implementing climate action, promoting energy efficiency and achieving energy diversification, as well as for the agricultural sector, fisheries and the sustainable development of rural areas; (f) financial sector policies, including the promotion of financial literacy, financial stability, access to finance and lending to the real economy; the production, provision and quality monitoring of data and statistics; and policies aimed at combating tax evasion.
Article 6 Eligible actions
With a view to pursuing the objectives set out in Articles 4 and 5, the Programme shall finance in particular the following types of action: (a) expertise related to policy advice, policy change, formulation of strategies and reform roadmaps, as well as to legislative, institutional, structural and administrative reforms; (b) the provision of experts, including resident experts, for a short or long period, to perform tasks in specific domains or to carry out operational activities, where necessary with interpretation, translation and cooperation support, administrative assistance and infrastructure and equipment facilities; (c) institutional, administrative or sectoral capacity building and related supporting actions at all governance levels, also contributing to the empowerment of civil society, as appropriate, in particular: (i) seminars, conferences and workshops; (ii) working visits to relevant Member States or third countries to enable officials to acquire or increase their expertise or knowledge in relevant matters; and (iii) training actions and the development of online or other training modules to support the necessary professional skills and knowledge relating to the relevant reforms; (d) collection of data and statistics, development of common methodologies and, where appropriate, indicators or benchmarks; (e) organisation of local operational support in areas such as asylum, migration and border control; (f) IT capacity building: expertise related to development, maintenance, operation and quality control of the IT infrastructure and applications needed to implement the relevant reforms, as well as expertise related to programmes geared towards the digitalisation of public services; (g) studies, research, analyses and surveys, evaluations and impact assessments, and the development and publication of guides, reports and educational material; (h) communication projects for learning, cooperation, awareness raising, dissemination activities and the exchange of good practices; organisation of awareness-raising and information campaigns, media campaigns and events, including corporate communication and communication, where appropriate, through social networks; (i) compilation and publication of materials to disseminate information as well as the results of the Programme, including through the development, operation and maintenance of systems and tools using information and communication technologies; (j) any other relevant activity in support of the general and specific objectives set out in Articles 4 and 5.
Article 7 Request for support
1. A Member State wishing to receive support under the Programme shall submit a request for support to the Commission, identifying the policy areas and the priorities for support within the scope of the Programme as set out in Article 5(2). That request shall be submitted by 31 October of a calendar year. The Commission may provide guidance on the main elements to be included in the request for support. 2. Taking into account the principles of transparency, equal treatment and sound financial management, further to a dialogue with the Member State, including in the context of the European Semester, the Commission shall analyse the request for support referred to in paragraph 1 based on the urgency, breadth and depth of the problems identified, support needs in respect of the policy areas concerned, analysis of socioeconomic indicators and general administrative capacity of the Member State. Based on that analysis and taking into account the existing actions and measures financed by Union funds or other Union programmes, the Commission shall come to an agreement with the Member State concerned on the priority areas for support, the objectives, an indicative timeline, the scope of the support measures to be provided and the estimated global financial contribution for such support, to be set out in a cooperation and support plan. 3. The request for support may be submitted regarding the following: (a) the implementation of reforms by Member States, undertaken 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 under existing instruments, in particular in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 472/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 14 ) for the euro area Member States and Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 ( 15 ) for non-euro area Member States; (c) the implementation of growth-sustaining reforms in the context of economic governance processes, in particular of the country-specific recommendations issued in the context of the European Semester or of actions related to the implementation of Union law.
Article 8 Information to the European Parliament and the Council on the cooperation and support plans
1. Subject to the consent of the beneficiary Member State, the Commission shall forward the cooperation and support plan to the European Parliament and the Council without undue delay. The beneficiary Member State may refuse to give such consent in the case of sensitive or confidential information, the disclosure of which would jeopardise public interests of the beneficiary Member State. 2. Nonetheless, the Commission shall provide the cooperation and support plan to the European Parliament and the Council in the following circumstances: (a) as soon as the beneficiary Member State has redacted all sensitive or confidential information, the disclosure of which would jeopardise public interests of the beneficiary Member State; (b) after a reasonable period of time, when the disclosure of relevant information would not adversely affect the implementation of the support measures under the Programme, and in any case no later than two months after the delivery of such measures under the cooperation and support plan.
Article 9 Organisation of support and reform partners
1. The Commission may, with the consent of the beneficiary Member State, organise the support under the Programme in cooperation with other Member States or European and international organisations. 2. The beneficiary Member State, in coordination with the Commission, may enter into partnership with one or more other Member States which shall act as reform partners in respect of specific areas of reform. A reform partner shall, in coordination with the Commission and on the basis of a mutual understanding with the beneficiary Member State and the Commission, help formulate strategy, reform roadmaps, design high-quality assistance or oversee implementation of strategy and projects.
Article 10 Financial envelope
1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme is set at EUR 142 800 000 in current prices. 2. The financial allocation of the Programme may also cover expenses pertaining to preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities which are required for the management of the Programme and the achievement of its objectives, in particular studies, meetings of experts, information and communication actions, including corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, in so far as they are related to the general objectives of this Regulation, expenses linked to IT networks focusing on information processing and exchange, and all other technical and administrative assistance expenses incurred by the Commission for the management of the Programme. 3. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 has been running since 20 May 2017 with a budget of EUR 142.8 million. 1 It was established with the objective of strengthening the capacity of Member States to prepare and implement growth-sustaining administrative and structural reforms, including through the use of assistance for the efficient and effective use of the Union funds. Support under the Programme is provided by the Commission, upon request by a Member State, and can cover a wide range of policy areas. Since the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation entered into force, there has been a very high take-up of the programme by Member States, with requests for support significantly exceeding the amount of funding available for its annual cycles. This is borne out by data for the 2017 cycle where, despite the late adoption of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, 271 requests for support were submitted by 16 Member States for an estimated amount of over EUR 80 million in total, compared with an allocation of EUR 22.5 million for 2017. This led to a strong prioritisation effort by the Commission, resulting in several requests not being selected for funding. The situation is even more acute for the 2018 cycle, which has just been launched (the deadline for submitting requests was 31 October 2017). 444 requests for support were submittted by 24 Member States and the total estimated cost of such requests is approximatly EUR 152 million, compared with the allocation for 2018 of EUR 30.5 million. This demonstrates clearly that the support needs on the ground and the interest for support from Member States goes well beyond the currently available financial resources of the Programme. The experience to date has shown that many Member States have requested support under the Programme, and that requests for support are distributed across all support policy areas covered by the Programme, such as governance and public administration, revenue administration and public financial management, growth and business environment, labour market, education, health and social services, the financial sector and access to finance. As indicated by President Juncker in his Address (and annexed Letter of Intent) to the European Parliament on 13 September 2017 on the State of the Union, 2 the euro is meant to be the single currency of the Union as a whole and, therefore, ultimately all but two Member States are required and entitled to join the euro area. There is thus a clear need to think ahead and support non-euro area Member States in preparing for their euro accession when they so desire. In order to be able to join the euro area, Member States must meet the “Maastricht” or “convergence criteria”, which indicate that they have achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence . The economic and financial crisis has demonstrated that, beyond nominal convergence, achieving real convergence and having resilient economies built on robust economic structures, which allow Member States to efficiently absorb shocks and swiftly recover from them, are crucial for ensuring successful participation in the euro area. This requires, in particular, that Member States have the capacity to manage their budgets in accordance with the principles of sound public financial management and are institutionally ready to participate in the Banking Union. Beyond this, properly functioning labour and product markets, which are able to absorb external shocks, a high degree of integration in terms of trade in goods and services, and a well-functioning public administration are of prime importance for successful integration into the euro area. Against the background of (i) the higher financing needs for the provision of support for the implementation of structural reforms, and (ii) the need to support Member States that intend to adopt the euro in accelerating the process of real convergence and developing more resilient economic and social structures to ensure their smooth participation in the Economic and Monetary Union, the Commission is committed, as a first step, to reinforcing the budget of the Structural Reform Support Programme by EUR 80 million for the period 2019-2020. This should be achieved by using the Flexibility Instrument under Article 11 of the current Multiannual Financial Framework. 3 This would bring the overall financial envelope of the Structural Reform Support Programme to EUR 222.8 million. The increase would not only allow the demand for support stemming from the non-euro area Member States, which want to adopt the euro and need to implement reforms in their economies, to be satisfied, but would also allow for the increased number and cost of requests for support for the implementation of administrative and structural reforms to be catered for. This additional budget would be supplemented by inviting Member States to make use of the possibility, under Article 11 of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, of transferring part of their resources from the technical assistance component of the European Structural and Investment Funds to the Structural Reform Support Programme, for the purpose of provision of support for the implementation of reforms, including reforms linked to euro adoption. Based on current estimates of possible needs for support, this supplement would increase the total amount of the budget available for support to EUR 300 million, thus doubling the support capacity by 2020. The support would offer tailor-made assistance for the implementation of all policies that help the Member States achieve a high degree of sustainable convergence. The support will be offered notably in the areas of the business environment, the financial sector, labour and product markets, the public administration and public financial management. The most important reforms needed to foster sustainable real convergence will be highlighted in the context of the European Semester. In a dedicated work stream, those Member States wishing to make progress towards joining the euro area would agree, in dialogue with the Commission, on a limited set of reform commitments that are of particular importance for successful euro area membership. These reform commitments would also be reflected in the National Reform Programmes of the Member States concerned. The Commission through the Structural Reform Support Service would conclude a new Cooperation and Support Plan with the Member States concerned, focussing on providing technical support for the implementation of reform commitments linked to euro adoption. This arrangement would be fully voluntary and would be offered without any co-financing from the beneficiary Member States.
Revised version (Article 10 Financial envelope):
1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme is set at EUR 222 800 000 in current prices. 2. The financial allocation of the Programme may also cover expenses pertaining to preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities which are required for the management of the Programme and the achievement of its objectives, in particular studies, meetings of experts, information and communication actions, including corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, in so far as they are related to the general objectives of this Regulation, expenses linked to IT networks focusing on information processing and exchange, and all other technical and administrative assistance expenses incurred by the Commission for the management of the Programme. Expenses may also cover the costs of other supporting activities, such as quality control and monitoring of support projects on the ground. 3. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.
Article 11 Other financial contributions to the budget of the Programme
1. In addition to the financial envelope set out in Article 10, the Programme may be financed through additional voluntary contributions from Member States. 2. The additional contributions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may consist of contributions from resources provided for technical assistance at the initiative of the Member States under Article 59 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and transferred pursuant to Article 25 of that Regulation. 3. The additional contributions referred to in paragraph 1 shall be used to support actions which contribute to delivering the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. A contribution made by a beneficiary Member State in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be used exclusively in that Member State.
Article 12 No double funding
Actions financed under this Regulation may receive support from other Union programmes, instruments or funds under the Union's budget provided that such support does not cover the same cost items.
Article 13 Implementation of the Programme
1. The Commission shall implement the Programme in accordance with the Financial Regulation. 2. The measures of the Programme may be implemented either directly by the Commission or, indirectly, by entities and persons other than Member States in accordance with Article 60 of the Financial Regulation. In particular, Union financial support for actions provided for in Article 6 of this Regulation shall take the form of: (a) grants, including grants to the Member States' national authorities; (b) public procurement contracts; (c) reimbursement of costs incurred by external experts, including experts from the national, regional or local authorities of Member States providing or receiving support; (d) contributions to trust funds set up by international organisations; and (e) actions carried out in indirect management. 3. Grants may be awarded to the national authorities of Member States, the European Investment Bank group, international organisations, public or private bodies and entities legally established in any of the following: (a) Member States; and (b) European Free Trade Association countries which are party to the European Economic Area Agreement, in accordance with the conditions laid down therein. The co-financing rate for grants shall be up to 100 % of the eligible costs, without prejudice to the principles of co-financing and no-profit. 4. Support may also be provided by individual experts, who may be invited to contribute to selected activities organised under the Programme wherever that is necessary for the achievement of the specific objectives set out in Article 5. 5. In order to implement the Programme, the Commission shall adopt, by way of implementing acts, annual work programmes and inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof. The annual work programmes shall set out the measures needed for their implementation, in line with the general and specific objectives referred to in Articles 4 and 5 of this Regulation, the selection and award criteria for grants, and all the elements required by the Financial Regulation. 6. To ensure timely availability of resources, a limited part of the annual work programme shall be envisaged for special measures in the event of unforeseen and duly justified grounds of urgency requiring an immediate response, including a serious disturbance in the economy or significant circumstances seriously affecting the economic or social conditions in a Member State going beyond its control. The Commission may, on request by a Member State wishing to receive support, adopt special measures in accordance with the objectives and actions defined in this Regulation to support the national authorities in addressing urgent needs. Such special measures are interim in nature, and shall not be subject to the conditions set out in Article 7(1) and (2). The special measures shall end within six months and may be replaced by support in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 7.
Article 14 Coordination and complementarity
1. The Commission and the beneficiary Member States, within their respective responsibilities, shall foster synergies and ensure effective coordination between the Programme and other Union programmes and instruments, and in particular with measures financed by the Union funds. To that end, they shall: (a) ensure complementarity and synergy between different instruments at Union, national and, where appropriate, regional level, in particular in relation to measures financed by Union funds, both in the planning phase and during implementation; (b) optimise mechanisms for coordination to avoid duplication of effort; and (c) ensure close cooperation between those responsible for implementation at Union, national and, where appropriate, regional level to deliver coherent and streamlined support actions. 2. The Commission shall make its best efforts to ensure complementarity and synergies with support provided by other relevant international organisations. 3. The relevant annual work programmes may serve as the coordination framework, where support is envisaged in any of the areas referred to in Article 5(2).
Article 15 Protection of the financial interests of the Union
1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures ensuring that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts unduly paid or incorrectly used and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate, administrative and financial penalties. 2. The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on the spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors which have received Union funding under the Programme. The European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections on economic operators concerned directly or indirectly by such funding in accordance with the procedures laid down in Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 16 ) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract concerning Union funding. Without prejudice to the first and second subparagraphs, cooperation agreements with international organisations and grant agreements and grant decisions and contracts resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall expressly empower the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and on-the-spot checks and inspections.
Article 16 Monitoring and evaluation
1. The Commission shall monitor the implementation of the actions financed by the Programme and measure the achievement of the general objective set out in Article 4 and the specific objectives referred to in Article 5(1) in accordance with indicators set out in the Annex. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 17 concerning amendments to the list of indicators set out in the Annex. 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) requests for support submitted by Member States, referred to in Article 7(1); (b) analyses of the application of the criteria, referred to in Article 7(2), used to analyse the requests for support submitted by Member States; (c) cooperation and support plans, referred to in Article 7(2); (d) participation of reform partners, referred to in Article 9; and (e) special measures adopted, referred to in Article 13(6). The Commission shall also provide the European Parliament and the Council with an independent mid-term evaluation report by mid-2019 at the latest and an independent ex post evaluation report by 31 December 2021. 3. The mid-term evaluation report shall include information on the achievement of the Programme's objectives, the efficiency of the use of resources and the Programme's European added value. It shall also address the continued relevance of all objectives and actions. The ex post evaluation report shall assess the Programme as a whole and include information on its longer-term impact.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 has been running since 20 May 2017 with a budget of EUR 142.8 million. 1 It was established with the objective of strengthening the capacity of Member States to prepare and implement growth-sustaining administrative and structural reforms, including through the use of assistance for the efficient and effective use of the Union funds. Support under the Programme is provided by the Commission, upon request by a Member State, and can cover a wide range of policy areas. Since the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation entered into force, there has been a very high take-up of the programme by Member States, with requests for support significantly exceeding the amount of funding available for its annual cycles. This is borne out by data for the 2017 cycle where, despite the late adoption of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, 271 requests for support were submitted by 16 Member States for an estimated amount of over EUR 80 million in total, compared with an allocation of EUR 22.5 million for 2017. This led to a strong prioritisation effort by the Commission, resulting in several requests not being selected for funding. The situation is even more acute for the 2018 cycle, which has just been launched (the deadline for submitting requests was 31 October 2017). 444 requests for support were submittted by 24 Member States and the total estimated cost of such requests is approximatly EUR 152 million, compared with the allocation for 2018 of EUR 30.5 million. This demonstrates clearly that the support needs on the ground and the interest for support from Member States goes well beyond the currently available financial resources of the Programme. The experience to date has shown that many Member States have requested support under the Programme, and that requests for support are distributed across all support policy areas covered by the Programme, such as governance and public administration, revenue administration and public financial management, growth and business environment, labour market, education, health and social services, the financial sector and access to finance. As indicated by President Juncker in his Address (and annexed Letter of Intent) to the European Parliament on 13 September 2017 on the State of the Union, 2 the euro is meant to be the single currency of the Union as a whole and, therefore, ultimately all but two Member States are required and entitled to join the euro area. There is thus a clear need to think ahead and support non-euro area Member States in preparing for their euro accession when they so desire. In order to be able to join the euro area, Member States must meet the “Maastricht” or “convergence criteria”, which indicate that they have achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence . The economic and financial crisis has demonstrated that, beyond nominal convergence, achieving real convergence and having resilient economies built on robust economic structures, which allow Member States to efficiently absorb shocks and swiftly recover from them, are crucial for ensuring successful participation in the euro area. This requires, in particular, that Member States have the capacity to manage their budgets in accordance with the principles of sound public financial management and are institutionally ready to participate in the Banking Union. Beyond this, properly functioning labour and product markets, which are able to absorb external shocks, a high degree of integration in terms of trade in goods and services, and a well-functioning public administration are of prime importance for successful integration into the euro area. Against the background of (i) the higher financing needs for the provision of support for the implementation of structural reforms, and (ii) the need to support Member States that intend to adopt the euro in accelerating the process of real convergence and developing more resilient economic and social structures to ensure their smooth participation in the Economic and Monetary Union, the Commission is committed, as a first step, to reinforcing the budget of the Structural Reform Support Programme by EUR 80 million for the period 2019-2020. This should be achieved by using the Flexibility Instrument under Article 11 of the current Multiannual Financial Framework. 3 This would bring the overall financial envelope of the Structural Reform Support Programme to EUR 222.8 million. The increase would not only allow the demand for support stemming from the non-euro area Member States, which want to adopt the euro and need to implement reforms in their economies, to be satisfied, but would also allow for the increased number and cost of requests for support for the implementation of administrative and structural reforms to be catered for. This additional budget would be supplemented by inviting Member States to make use of the possibility, under Article 11 of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, of transferring part of their resources from the technical assistance component of the European Structural and Investment Funds to the Structural Reform Support Programme, for the purpose of provision of support for the implementation of reforms, including reforms linked to euro adoption. Based on current estimates of possible needs for support, this supplement would increase the total amount of the budget available for support to EUR 300 million, thus doubling the support capacity by 2020. The support would offer tailor-made assistance for the implementation of all policies that help the Member States achieve a high degree of sustainable convergence. The support will be offered notably in the areas of the business environment, the financial sector, labour and product markets, the public administration and public financial management. The most important reforms needed to foster sustainable real convergence will be highlighted in the context of the European Semester. In a dedicated work stream, those Member States wishing to make progress towards joining the euro area would agree, in dialogue with the Commission, on a limited set of reform commitments that are of particular importance for successful euro area membership. These reform commitments would also be reflected in the National Reform Programmes of the Member States concerned. The Commission through the Structural Reform Support Service would conclude a new Cooperation and Support Plan with the Member States concerned, focussing on providing technical support for the implementation of reform commitments linked to euro adoption. This arrangement would be fully voluntary and would be offered without any co-financing from the beneficiary Member States.
Revised version (Article 16 Monitoring and evaluation):
1. The Commission shall monitor the implementation of the actions financed by the Programme and measure the achievement of the general objective set out in Article 4 and the specific objectives referred to in Article 5(1) in accordance with indicators set out in the Annex. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 17 concerning amendments to the list of indicators set out in the Annex. 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) requests for support submitted by Member States, referred to in Article 7(1); (b) analyses of the application of the criteria, referred to in Article 7(2), used to analyse the requests for support submitted by Member States; (c) cooperation and support plans, referred to in Article 7(2); (d) participation of reform partners, referred to in Article 9; (e) special measures adopted, referred to in Article 13(6); and (f) implementation of support measures. The Commission shall also provide the European Parliament and the Council with an independent mid-term evaluation report by mid-2019 at the latest and an independent ex post evaluation report by 31 December 2021. 3. The mid-term evaluation report shall include information on the achievement of the Programme's objectives, the efficiency of the use of resources and the Programme's European added value. It shall also address the continued relevance of all objectives and actions. The ex post evaluation report shall assess the Programme as a whole and include information on its longer-term impact.
Article 17 Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 16(1) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period from 20 May 2017 to 31 December 2020. 3. The delegation of power referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 16(1) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force. 4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. 5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 16(1) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of the notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.
Article 18 Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 is amended as follows: (1) Article 25 is amended as follows: (a) the title is replaced by the following: ‘Management of technical assistance for Member States’; (b) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. On the request of a Member State pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and the Council ( *1 ) , a part of the resources provided for under Article 59 of this Regulation and programmed in accordance with Fund-specific rules may, in agreement with the Commission, be transferred to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission for implementation of measures in relation to the Member State concerned in accordance with point (l) of the third subparagraph of Article 58(1) of this Regulation through direct or indirect management. ( *1 ) Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on the establishment of the Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 and amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013 and (EU) No 1305/2013 ( OJ L 129, 19.5.2017, p. 1 ).’;" (c) in paragraph 3, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘A Member State shall request the transfer referred to in paragraph 1 for a calendar year by 31 January of the year in which a transfer is to be made. The request shall be accompanied by a proposal to amend the programme or programmes from which the transfer will be made. Corresponding amendments shall be made to the Partnership Agreement in accordance with Article 30(2) which shall set out the total amount transferred each year to the Commission.’; (d) the following paragraph is added: ‘4. Resources transferred by a Member State in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall be subject to the decommitment rule set out in Article 136 of this Regulation and Article 38 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.’;
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 has been running since 20 May 2017 with a budget of EUR 142.8 million. 1 It was established with the objective of strengthening the capacity of Member States to prepare and implement growth-sustaining administrative and structural reforms, including through the use of assistance for the efficient and effective use of the Union funds. Support under the Programme is provided by the Commission, upon request by a Member State, and can cover a wide range of policy areas. Since the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation entered into force, there has been a very high take-up of the programme by Member States, with requests for support significantly exceeding the amount of funding available for its annual cycles. This is borne out by data for the 2017 cycle where, despite the late adoption of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, 271 requests for support were submitted by 16 Member States for an estimated amount of over EUR 80 million in total, compared with an allocation of EUR 22.5 million for 2017. This led to a strong prioritisation effort by the Commission, resulting in several requests not being selected for funding. The situation is even more acute for the 2018 cycle, which has just been launched (the deadline for submitting requests was 31 October 2017). 444 requests for support were submittted by 24 Member States and the total estimated cost of such requests is approximatly EUR 152 million, compared with the allocation for 2018 of EUR 30.5 million. This demonstrates clearly that the support needs on the ground and the interest for support from Member States goes well beyond the currently available financial resources of the Programme. The experience to date has shown that many Member States have requested support under the Programme, and that requests for support are distributed across all support policy areas covered by the Programme, such as governance and public administration, revenue administration and public financial management, growth and business environment, labour market, education, health and social services, the financial sector and access to finance. As indicated by President Juncker in his Address (and annexed Letter of Intent) to the European Parliament on 13 September 2017 on the State of the Union, 2 the euro is meant to be the single currency of the Union as a whole and, therefore, ultimately all but two Member States are required and entitled to join the euro area. There is thus a clear need to think ahead and support non-euro area Member States in preparing for their euro accession when they so desire. In order to be able to join the euro area, Member States must meet the “Maastricht” or “convergence criteria”, which indicate that they have achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence . The economic and financial crisis has demonstrated that, beyond nominal convergence, achieving real convergence and having resilient economies built on robust economic structures, which allow Member States to efficiently absorb shocks and swiftly recover from them, are crucial for ensuring successful participation in the euro area. This requires, in particular, that Member States have the capacity to manage their budgets in accordance with the principles of sound public financial management and are institutionally ready to participate in the Banking Union. Beyond this, properly functioning labour and product markets, which are able to absorb external shocks, a high degree of integration in terms of trade in goods and services, and a well-functioning public administration are of prime importance for successful integration into the euro area. Against the background of (i) the higher financing needs for the provision of support for the implementation of structural reforms, and (ii) the need to support Member States that intend to adopt the euro in accelerating the process of real convergence and developing more resilient economic and social structures to ensure their smooth participation in the Economic and Monetary Union, the Commission is committed, as a first step, to reinforcing the budget of the Structural Reform Support Programme by EUR 80 million for the period 2019-2020. This should be achieved by using the Flexibility Instrument under Article 11 of the current Multiannual Financial Framework. 3 This would bring the overall financial envelope of the Structural Reform Support Programme to EUR 222.8 million. The increase would not only allow the demand for support stemming from the non-euro area Member States, which want to adopt the euro and need to implement reforms in their economies, to be satisfied, but would also allow for the increased number and cost of requests for support for the implementation of administrative and structural reforms to be catered for. This additional budget would be supplemented by inviting Member States to make use of the possibility, under Article 11 of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, of transferring part of their resources from the technical assistance component of the European Structural and Investment Funds to the Structural Reform Support Programme, for the purpose of provision of support for the implementation of reforms, including reforms linked to euro adoption. Based on current estimates of possible needs for support, this supplement would increase the total amount of the budget available for support to EUR 300 million, thus doubling the support capacity by 2020. The support would offer tailor-made assistance for the implementation of all policies that help the Member States achieve a high degree of sustainable convergence. The support will be offered notably in the areas of the business environment, the financial sector, labour and product markets, the public administration and public financial management. The most important reforms needed to foster sustainable real convergence will be highlighted in the context of the European Semester. In a dedicated work stream, those Member States wishing to make progress towards joining the euro area would agree, in dialogue with the Commission, on a limited set of reform commitments that are of particular importance for successful euro area membership. These reform commitments would also be reflected in the National Reform Programmes of the Member States concerned. The Commission through the Structural Reform Support Service would conclude a new Cooperation and Support Plan with the Member States concerned, focussing on providing technical support for the implementation of reform commitments linked to euro adoption. This arrangement would be fully voluntary and would be offered without any co-financing from the beneficiary Member States.
Revised version (Article 18 Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013):
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 is amended as follows: (1) Article 25 is amended as follows: (a) the title is replaced by the following: ‘Management of technical assistance for Member States’; (b) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. On the request of a Member State pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and the Council ( *1 ), a part of the resources provided for under Article 59 of this Regulation and programmed in accordance with Fund-specific rules may, in agreement with the Commission, be transferred to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission for implementation of measures in relation to the Member State concerned in accordance with point (l) of the third subparagraph of Article 58(1) of this Regulation through direct or indirect management. (c) in paragraph 3, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘A Member State shall request the transfer referred to in paragraph 1 for a calendar year by 31 January of the year in which a transfer is to be made. The request shall be accompanied by a proposal to amend the programme or programmes from which the transfer will be made. Corresponding amendments shall be made to the Partnership Agreement in accordance with Article 30(2) which shall set out the total amount transferred each year to the Commission.’; (d) the following paragraph is added: ‘4. Resources transferred by a Member State in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall be subject to the decommitment rule set out in Article 136 of this Regulation and Article 38 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013.’; (2) in the third subparagraph of Article 58(1), point (l) is replaced by the following: ‘(l) actions financed under Regulation (EU) 2017/825 in order to contribute to delivering the Union strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.’; (3) in Article 91, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. 0,35 % of the global resources after the deduction of the support to the CEF referred to in Article 92(6), and to the aid for the most deprived referred to in Article 92(7) shall be allocated to technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission, of which up to EUR 112 233 000 in current prices shall be allocated to the Structural Reform Support Programme established by Regulation (EU) 2017/825 for use within the scope and purpose of that programme.’.
Article 19 Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013
In Article 51 of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013, the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘In accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 the EAFRD may use up to 0,25 % of its annual allocation to finance the tasks referred to in Article 58 of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013, including the costs for setting up and operating the European network for rural development referred to in Article 52 of this Regulation and the EIP network referred to in Article 53 of this Regulation at the Commission's initiative and/or on its behalf, of which up to EUR 30 567 000 in current prices shall be allocated to the Structural Reform Support Programme established by Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *2 ) for use within the scope and purpose of that programme.
Article 20 Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The Structural Reform Support Programme for the period 2017 to 2020 has been running since 20 May 2017 with a budget of EUR 142.8 million. 1 It was established with the objective of strengthening the capacity of Member States to prepare and implement growth-sustaining administrative and structural reforms, including through the use of assistance for the efficient and effective use of the Union funds. Support under the Programme is provided by the Commission, upon request by a Member State, and can cover a wide range of policy areas. Since the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation entered into force, there has been a very high take-up of the programme by Member States, with requests for support significantly exceeding the amount of funding available for its annual cycles. This is borne out by data for the 2017 cycle where, despite the late adoption of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, 271 requests for support were submitted by 16 Member States for an estimated amount of over EUR 80 million in total, compared with an allocation of EUR 22.5 million for 2017. This led to a strong prioritisation effort by the Commission, resulting in several requests not being selected for funding. The situation is even more acute for the 2018 cycle, which has just been launched (the deadline for submitting requests was 31 October 2017). 444 requests for support were submittted by 24 Member States and the total estimated cost of such requests is approximatly EUR 152 million, compared with the allocation for 2018 of EUR 30.5 million. This demonstrates clearly that the support needs on the ground and the interest for support from Member States goes well beyond the currently available financial resources of the Programme. The experience to date has shown that many Member States have requested support under the Programme, and that requests for support are distributed across all support policy areas covered by the Programme, such as governance and public administration, revenue administration and public financial management, growth and business environment, labour market, education, health and social services, the financial sector and access to finance. As indicated by President Juncker in his Address (and annexed Letter of Intent) to the European Parliament on 13 September 2017 on the State of the Union, 2 the euro is meant to be the single currency of the Union as a whole and, therefore, ultimately all but two Member States are required and entitled to join the euro area. There is thus a clear need to think ahead and support non-euro area Member States in preparing for their euro accession when they so desire. In order to be able to join the euro area, Member States must meet the “Maastricht” or “convergence criteria”, which indicate that they have achieved a high degree of sustainable convergence . The economic and financial crisis has demonstrated that, beyond nominal convergence, achieving real convergence and having resilient economies built on robust economic structures, which allow Member States to efficiently absorb shocks and swiftly recover from them, are crucial for ensuring successful participation in the euro area. This requires, in particular, that Member States have the capacity to manage their budgets in accordance with the principles of sound public financial management and are institutionally ready to participate in the Banking Union. Beyond this, properly functioning labour and product markets, which are able to absorb external shocks, a high degree of integration in terms of trade in goods and services, and a well-functioning public administration are of prime importance for successful integration into the euro area. Against the background of (i) the higher financing needs for the provision of support for the implementation of structural reforms, and (ii) the need to support Member States that intend to adopt the euro in accelerating the process of real convergence and developing more resilient economic and social structures to ensure their smooth participation in the Economic and Monetary Union, the Commission is committed, as a first step, to reinforcing the budget of the Structural Reform Support Programme by EUR 80 million for the period 2019-2020. This should be achieved by using the Flexibility Instrument under Article 11 of the current Multiannual Financial Framework. 3 This would bring the overall financial envelope of the Structural Reform Support Programme to EUR 222.8 million. The increase would not only allow the demand for support stemming from the non-euro area Member States, which want to adopt the euro and need to implement reforms in their economies, to be satisfied, but would also allow for the increased number and cost of requests for support for the implementation of administrative and structural reforms to be catered for. This additional budget would be supplemented by inviting Member States to make use of the possibility, under Article 11 of the Structural Reform Support Programme Regulation, of transferring part of their resources from the technical assistance component of the European Structural and Investment Funds to the Structural Reform Support Programme, for the purpose of provision of support for the implementation of reforms, including reforms linked to euro adoption. Based on current estimates of possible needs for support, this supplement would increase the total amount of the budget available for support to EUR 300 million, thus doubling the support capacity by 2020. The support would offer tailor-made assistance for the implementation of all policies that help the Member States achieve a high degree of sustainable convergence. The support will be offered notably in the areas of the business environment, the financial sector, labour and product markets, the public administration and public financial management. The most important reforms needed to foster sustainable real convergence will be highlighted in the context of the European Semester. In a dedicated work stream, those Member States wishing to make progress towards joining the euro area would agree, in dialogue with the Commission, on a limited set of reform commitments that are of particular importance for successful euro area membership. These reform commitments would also be reflected in the National Reform Programmes of the Member States concerned. The Commission through the Structural Reform Support Service would conclude a new Cooperation and Support Plan with the Member States concerned, focussing on providing technical support for the implementation of reform commitments linked to euro adoption. This arrangement would be fully voluntary and would be offered without any co-financing from the beneficiary Member States.
Revised version (Article 20 Entry into force):
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.