On Wednesday 5 November, Director General of the European Commission’s Reform and Investment Task Force Céline Gauer noted the growing number of multi-country projects supported by the European Technical Support Instrument (TSI).
This increase is “constant”: multi-country projects accounted for 25% of the 170 projects in 2024 and 30% of the 135 projects in 2025, and will account for 39% of the 300 requests for support in 2026, Ms Gauer indicated during a presentation of the TSI’s work to European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
Based on the Commission’s mid-term evaluation published in May (see EUROPE 13638/7), Ms Gauer gave a positive assessment of the initiative, which strengthens the administrative capacity of Member States at a lower cost, particularly through the implementation of post-Covid-19 national recovery plans.
Among possible improvements to the TSI, the European official recommended making the reforms undertaken more “ambitious”, noting “a lack of appetite for complex reforms”. The reforms supported should also be more closely aligned with those recommended as part of the ‘European Semester’ budgetary process.
What’s more, as Member States are not obliged to monitor the projects carried out, this is only done in “60% of cases”, noted Ms Gauer. She made no secret of the fact that this situation limits the Commission’s ability to assess the TSI’s impact on the ground. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)