Negotiators of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached an agreement on Tuesday 15 December on the proposal for a regulation establishing a European Technical Support Instrument for structural reforms in the Member States.
From 2021, this instrument will take over from the Structural Reform Support Instrument. It will particularly help Member States to prepare reforms to be included in their national post-Covid-19 recovery plans that align with the thematic priorities of the Next Generation EU European recovery plan, such as green and digital transitions (digitalisation of public administration and services, vocational training) and/or strengthening of health systems.
The European legislator has established a closer link with the country-specific socio-economic policy recommendations addressed each year to Member States.
The instrument will be able to draw on funds of EUR 864.4 million over the 2021–2027 period. Up to 30% of the annual envelope should be available for emergency measures for dealing with the unexpected. Through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the budgetary instrument at the heart of the European Recovery Plan, the endowment of the technical support instrument can be supplemented.
MEPs welcomed their ability to increase transparency obligations, notably through the creation of an online register that will be used to compile all support actions carried out under the instrument.
“Parliament also successfully strengthened the TSI’s objectives, its scope, transparency and democratic accountability”, said Othmar Karas (EPP, Austria) in a statement.
The agreement still needs to be formally validated by the European Parliament and the EU Council.
See the text of the agreement: https://bit.ly/2WlEgSN (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)