PURPOSE: to establish the Structural Reform Support Programme for the period from 2017-2020 with the objective of enhancing institutional, structural and administrative reforms.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2017/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council 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.

CONTENT: the Regulation establishes a programme with a budget of EUR 142.8 million to assist Member States in implementing structural reforms.

The Programme shall finance actions and activities with European added value .

It shall be to contribute to institutional, administrative and growth-sustaining structural reforms 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.

Scope : support under the programme shall be provided by the Commission at the request of a Member State in the following areas:

public financial and asset management, budget process, debt management and revenue administration; institutional reform and efficient and service-oriented functioning of public administration, reform of the justice systems and reinforcement of the fight against fraud, corruption and money laundering; 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; education and training, labour market policies, the fight against poverty, social security and social welfare systems, cohesion, asylum, migration and border policies; policies for implementing climate action, promoting energy efficiency; financial sector policies, including the promotion of financial literacy, financial stability, access to finance and lending to the real economy.

Request for support : Member States will have to submit a request to the Commission specifying the priority policy areas for support within the scope of this Programme by 31 October of a calendar year.

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 .

The Commission shall forward the cooperation and support plan to the European Parliament and to the Council as soon as the beneficiary Member State has cleared all sensitive or confidential information, the disclosure of which would jeopardise public interests of the beneficiary Member State.

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.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 20.5.2017.

DELEGATED ACTS: the Commission may adopt delegated acts in order to adapt the list of indicators measuring the achievement of the objectives of the Programme in the light of experience during the implementation of the Programme. The power to adopt such acts shall be conferred on the Commission for a period from 20 May 2017 to 31 December 2020 . The European Parliament or the Council shall have the right to object to a delegated act within a period of two months (extendable for two months) from the date of notification of the act.

The European Parliament adopted by 470 votes to 166, with 14 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council 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.

The European Parliament’s position, adopted in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure, amended the Commission proposal as follows:

General objective : the Programme shall 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, through assistance for the efficient, effective and transparent use of the Union funds .

In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the actions and activities selected for funding should ensure European added value through their contribution to the consistent and coherent implementation of Union law and policies, as well as the promotion of European values, including solidarity.

Specific objectives : programme support shall be provided by the Commission at the request of a Member State in areas related to cohesion, competitiveness, productivity, innovation, smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth, jobs and investment.

Included in these areas are: (i) the business environment (including SMEs), re-industrialisation and digitalisation; (ii) labour market policies, including social dialogue, for the creation of jobs; (iii) policies for implementing climate action, promoting energy efficiency and achieving energy diversification; (iv) promotion of financial literacy, access to finance and lending to the real economy and policies aimed at combating tax evasion .

Request for support : a Member State wishing to receive support under the Programme shall submit a request for support to the Commission. The Commission may provide guidance on the main elements to be included in the request for support.

Based on the analysis for support, 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 .

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.

Organisation of support and reform partners : 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 or other Member States which have agreed to act as reform partners.

Implementation and follow-up : the Commission should adopt annual work programmes and inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof. The Commission shall provide the European Parliament and the Council with an annual monitoring report on the implementation of the Programme including requests for support submitted by Member States.

Financial envelope : this shall be set at EUR 142 800 000 in current prices . The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.

The Committee on Regional Development adopted the report by Lambert van NISTELROOIJ (EPP, NL) and Constanze KREHL (S&D, DE) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council 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.

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, exercising its prerogative as an associated committee in accordance with Rule 54 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure , also gave an opinion on the report.

The committee recommended that Parliament’s position adopted in first reading following the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the Commission proposal as follows:

Objectives and activities : the Programme will:

strengthen the capacity of Member States to design and implement growth-enhancing administrative and structural reforms and establish coherence with national and regional development strategies including through assistance for the efficient and effective use of the Union funds in particular the European Structural and Investment Funds ('ESI Funds') and programmes; contribute to the achievement of common goals towards: (i) obtaining economic recovery, economic, social and territorial cohesion, job creation; (ii) guaranteeing a high level of social welfare and high-quality health and education services; (iii) combating poverty and social exclusion.

Added value : actions and activities of the Programme shall ensure European added value in particular through:

the development and implementation of solutions that address local, regional and national challenges which have impact on cross-border or Union-wide challenges, and that contribute to social, economic and territorial cohesion; their complementarity and synergy with other Union programmes and policies at regional, national and Union level; their contribution to the consistent and coherent implementation of Union law and policies, as well as the promotion of European values , in particular solidarity and respect for fundamental rights; their contribution to the sharing of good practices with a view to increasing the visibility of the Union’s reform programmes.

Specific objectives : these shall be pursued in close cooperation with beneficiary Member States and shall refer to policy areas related to economic, social and territorial cohesion, competitiveness, innovation, smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth, jobs and investment, including the following:

re-industrialisation , financial and administrative assistance to SMEs, increasing public participation in enterprises and privatization processes, and digitalisation; policies for implementing climate action and promoting energy efficiency, achieving energy diversification; financial sector policies, including the promotion of financial literacy, financial stability, access to finance and lending to the real economy, and combating tax evasion.

Eligible actions : the Programme may finance expertise related to policy advice, policy change, formulation of strategies and reform roadmaps , as well as to legislative, institutional, structural and administrative reforms at national, regional and local level where appropriate.

The Commission shall: (i) inform the European Parliament as soon as a request for support under the Programme has been received and give details of the analysis undertaken; (ii) provide the cooperation and support plan to the European Parliament as soon as possible; (iii) inform the European Parliament about the participation of a Reform Partner and the latter’s role in the cooperation and support plan.

The request for support may be submitted regarding the following: (i) the implementation of reforms by Member States, undertaken at their own initiative, in particular to achieve sustainable economic growth and job creation; (ii) the implementation of sustainable reforms in the context of economic governance processes, in particular of the relevant Country Specific Recommendations issued in the context of the European semester.

Financial envelope : this amounts to EUR 142 800 000 in current prices . The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the European Parliament and the Council within the limits of the multiannual financial framework.

PURPOSE: to establish the Structural Reform Support Programme for the period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2020 with the objective of strengthening the overall capacity of Member States to prepare and implement growth-enhancing institutional, structural and administrative reforms.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: several Member States have been undergoing and continue to undergo adjustment processes to correct macroeconomic imbalances accumulated in the past and many are facing the challenge of low potential growth. The Union has identified the implementation of structural reforms among its policy priorities to set the recovery on a sustainable path, unlock the growth potential to strengthen the adjustment capacity, and support the process of convergence.

Reforms are by their very nature complex processes that require a complete chain of highly-specialised knowledge and skills. In this context, the provision of support by the Union in the form of technical assistance has been crucial in supporting the economic adjustment of Greece and Cyprus in the last years.

Member States may benefit from support in addressing challenges as regards the design and implementation of structural reforms. The Commission proposed to use the experience gained by the Union in assisting national authorities carrying out reforms in order to enhance the capacity of the Union to provide support to Member States .

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the Commission has examined two policy options in the ex-ante evaluation which is accompanying this proposal: a baseline option that foresees no change in the status quo, and a second option where a dedicated funding Programme is introduced and technical support is provided, on request from Member States, to assist potentially all Member States in order to support the implementation of growth-enhancing reforms in the context of economic governance processes.

Based on the ex-ante evaluation, the second scenario is the preferred policy choice since it allows providing support in an organised and systematic manner to all Member States.

CONTENT: this Regulation seeks to establish the Structural Reform Support Programme for the period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2020.

General objective : the general objective of the Programme is to contribute to reforms in the Member States by providing support to national authorities for measures aimed at reforming institutions, governance, administration, economic and societal sectors in response to economic and social challenges with a view to enhancing competitiveness, growth, jobs, and investment, in particular in the context of economic governance processes, including through assistance for the efficient and effective use of the Union funds ( European Structural and Investment funds , the Fund for the European Aid to the Most Deprived , the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund as well as the instrument for financial support for external borders and visa.

Specific objectives : the specific objectives of the Programme will be to support the initiatives of national authorities to:

design their reforms according to priorities, enhance their capacity to formulate, develop and implement reform policies and strategies and pursue an integrated approach ensuring consistency between goals and means across sectors, support their efforts to define and implement appropriate processes and methodologies, and to assist them to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of human resources management.

Support for the reforms : the support will relate to specific policy areas, such as:

public financial management , budget process, debt management and revenue administration, institutional reform and efficient and service-oriented functioning of public administration, effective rule of law, reform of the justice system and reinforcement of anti-fraud, anticorruption and anti-money laundering, business environment , private sector development, access to finance, investment, financial sector policies, privatisation processes, trade and foreign direct investment, competition, public procurement, sustainable sectoral development and support for innovation, education and training , labour market policies, social inclusion, social security and social welfare systems, public health and healthcare systems, asylum, migration and borders policies, policies for the agricultural sector and the sustainable development of rural areas.

Introduction of a request for support : a request for support under this Programme shall be made by a Member State wishing to receive such support. The request may be made within the dialogue of the European Semester , in any case by 31 October of the calendar year. The request for support may relate to three circumstances:

the implementation of reforms in the context of economic governance processes , in particular of relevant Country Specific Recommendations issued in the context of the European Semester or implementation of other actions related to the Union law; the implementation of reforms associated with economic adjustment programmes for Member States receiving Union financial assistance under the existing instruments; the implementation of reforms undertaken by Member States at their initiative , notably to achieve sustainable investment, growth and job creation.

Additional financial resources : the Programme may receive additional financial resources also through voluntary allocations from the technical assistance financial resources at the initiative of the Member States. To that end, it is proposed to allow all Member States (and not only Member States under temporary financial difficulties, as currently is the case) to contribute to the financial envelope of the Programme.

Monitoring and evaluation : the achievement of the specific objectives of the Programme will be monitored and evaluated according to a number of indicators linked to the activities of technical support. This will include: (i) number and type of national authorities which received support, (ii) the number and type of support providers, (iii) the number and type of eligible actions performed (such as the provision of experts, training actions, seminars, etc.), (iv) the number of policy initiatives (such as action plans, road maps, guidelines, recommendations, legislation recommended/or adopted).

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the dedicated financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme shall be up to EUR 142 800 000 (current prices) for a period of 4 years . This will be deduced from the technical assistance resources at the initiative of the Commission under Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and Regulation (EU) 1305/2013 and appropriately allocated for use within the scope and purpose of the Programme.

DELEGATED ACTS: the proposal contains provisions empowering the Commission to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.