Since it was set up in 2015, the Structural Reform Support Service has undertaken to assist 15 member states to carry out more than 150 structural reform projects, the European Commission announced on Thursday 14 September.
“Experience shows that reforms pay off. They bring more jobs and robust growth”, said the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Valdis Dombrovskis, in a press release.The service manages the Structural Reform Support Programme, which entered into force in May 2017 (see EUROPE 11776), with an envelope of €142.8 million for the period 2017-2020. This programme provides the national authorities with technical support in fields as varied as the management of public finances, administration, the employment market and education. Although this support covers the entire process, from identifying the reform need to funding and implementation, it is voluntary in nature, with the application issued by the member states.
Amongst other things, the service has supported Cyprus and Malta in meeting their climate and energy targets, the Czech Republic and Greece in improving their transport infrastructure and Slovenia to improve the efficiency of the treatment of its non-performing loans. Greece, Poland and Portugal have also applied for technical and financial support to modernise the management of their public finances and Bulgaria and Croatia have requested assistance in reforming their education systems.
On the eve of the informal meeting of European economy and finance ministers in Tallinn, Dombrovskis highlighted another area of technical support: helping member states to join the Eurozone. The aim is to help them to implement the necessary reforms, whilst maintaining strict accession criteria, he explained, stressing that although countries such as Bulgaria and the Czech Republic are getting close to meeting these criteria, others, among them Poland and Hungary, are still a long way away.
The Commission wishes to encourage countries that would like to join the Eurozone, he said, echoing the recent proposal of Present Juncker to create a euro accession instrument (see EUROPE 11861). (Original version in French by Marion Fontana with Lucas Tripoteau)