Progress in achieving the specific objectives

Support measures financed by the SRSP 2018 budget are contributing to the specific objectives of the programme as follows⁴¹ (see Annex III for more details):

• 47% of support measures contribute to the design of reforms.

o The majority of support measures contributing to this objective are in tax policy, digital public administration, education and training and capital markets union.

• 64% contribute to the formulation, development and implementation of reforms;

o The majority of support measures contributing to this objective are in tax policy, education and training, healthcare, and capital markets union.

• 56% contribute to the definition and implementation of processes and methodologies;

o The majority of support measures contributing to this objective are in tax policy, education and training, healthcare, digital public administration, judicial reform and capital markets union.

• 19% of support measures aim to help improve efficiency and effectiveness of human resources management.

o The majority of support measures contributing to this objective are in digital public administration, healthcare, judicial reform and management of human resources.

For the funds transferred to the SRSP voluntarily by Greece and Bulgaria under Article 11 of the SRSP Regulation, the support measures were related to the design of reforms (33%), to the formulation, development and implementation of reforms (55%), to the definition and implementation of processes and methodologies (33%) and to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of human resources management (18%).

4.3. Expected outcomes of SRSP activities

In line with the intervention logic of the programme (see Figure 18), the support measures financed under the 2018 SRSP budget are expected to achieve outcomes that will ultimately contribute to the achievement of the general and specific SRSP objectives as follows.

• 24% of support measures are expected to lead (or have led) to adoption of a strategy, draft of a new law or act, or modification of an existing one;

• 47% of support measures are expected to lead (or have led) to adoption of (new) procedures and actions to enhance the implementation of reforms;

41 Each support measure can contribute to more than one specific objective, which is why the sum of the figures appear to amount to more than 100%. See Annex III for a more detailed listing.

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• 50% of support measures strive to deliver (or have delivered) improved internal working procedures, methodologies and processes/organisation;

• 14% of support measures aim to bring about organisational change, change management and improved human resource management;

• 16% of support measures are expected to lead (or have led) to other results (indentification of policy options, strengthened administrative capacity, collection of data and information, strategic and operational planning, etc.).

For the funds transferred to the SRSP voluntarily by Greece and Bulgaria under Article 11 of the SRSP Regulation, 33% are expected to lead (or have led) to the adoption of a strategy, draft of a new law or act, or modification of an existing one; 30% to the adoption of (new) procedures and actions to enhance the implementation of reforms; 45% of support measures strive to deliver improved internal working procedures, methodologies and processes/organisation; and 21% aim to bring about organisational change, change management, and improved human resource management.

4.4. European added value

Actions selected under the SRSP 2018 round are designed to ensure complementarity and synergy with other programmes and policies at national, Union and international level, contribute to further promoting mutual trust and cooperation between beneficiary Member States and the Commission, and ensure consistent and coherent implementation of Union law.

In addition, some actions should allow for the development and implementation of solutions that address national challenges but also have a positive cross-border impact and/or impact on the Union as a whole.

The Commission is in a better position than any single Member State to identify and channel good practices. In many instances, therefore, support measures delivered to the Member States have been improved by the exchange of good practices among the Member States and between Member States and international organisations. This also enabled efficiency gains, as positive results in one Member State could be implemented in another.

Support measures implemented under the SRSP 2018 are expected to generate European added value, as the following examples illustrate⁴².

• 45% of support measures are expected to have an impact on cross-border or Union-wide challenges:

o the same support measures are being provided under the SRSP 2018 to three different Member States in the area of health system reform (aiming to extend coverage and effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening programmes and contribute to a reduction in cancer rates in the population). They address

42 Each support measure can contribute to more than one element relevant to European added value.

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border issues with cross-border solutions and respond to Union-wide challenges.

• 65% are expected to complement other Union programmes⁴³:

o support measures provided under the SRSP 2018 helped a managing authority identify bottlenecks in the implementation of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), with the aim of improving its management capacity and performance.

• 46% are expected to contribute to the consistent and coherent implementation of Union laws and policies:

o support measures provided under the SRSP 2018 are helping Member States develop capital markets, ensure compliance with the EU’s environmental laws, reform the electricity market and foster decarbonisation, or develop guidelines for ensuring compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

• 37% of support measures are expected to contribute to the sharing of good practices, also with a view to increasing the visibility of the programme:

o support measures provided under the SRSP involved coaching visits from officials from other Member States which have successfully implemented spending reviews in the same policy areas as the requesting Member State.

• 35% are expected to promote mutual trust between the beneficiary Member State and the Commission and between Member States:

o support measures enabling the exchange of experiences and lessons learned between two national administrations in the field of education. The objective was to help better understand the challenges of comprehensive curricula reform fostering key competencies.

For the funds transferred to the SRSP voluntarily by Greece and Bulgaria under Article 11 of the SRSP Regulation, 39% of the support measures are expected to have an impact on cross-border or Union-wide challenges, 39% are expected to contribute to the consistent and coherent implementation of Union laws and policies, 36% are expected to contribute to the sharing of good practices and 15% are expected to promote mutual trust between the beneficiary Member State and the Commission and between the Member States.

43 Other Union funds or programmes, such as the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) or other Community programmes.

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5.

The second year of implementation of the SRSP is already showing concrete results. By 30 November 2019, 123 of the projects implemented under both the 2017 and 2018 SRSP rounds have already delivered concrete results⁴⁴.

Figure 18: Number of completed projects under the SRSP 2017 and 2018 rounds, per Member State

While the outputs of the individual projects are known (a draft law, strategic and legal advice, studies, training, workshops, recommendations, actions, plans, etc.), the report does not systematically evaluate the extent to which the Member State authorities have used the results of the support measures to design or implement reforms (the outcome).

The SRSS established a mechanism to evaluate the outcomes in order to assess the extent to which the support provided to Member States met its goals and to identify factors which influenced the successful delivery of the support measures.

Under this mechanism, authorities benefitting from the programme provide feedback on the support provided (the outputs) and information concerning follow-up actions taken several months after delivery of the support measures.

Some illustrative examples of actual results of the support delivered, and the use of these measures by Member States where available, are provided below.

Contribution to institutional and administrative reforms

44 The implementation period covered by this report (of support measures selected for funding in 2018) is 31 August 2017 - 31 October 2019.

AT BE BG HR CY CZ EE FR EL IE IT LV LT MT PL PT RO SK SI ES

SRSP 2017 6 9 3 4 1 1 1 5 8 9 7 8 1 9 3 6

SRSP 2018 2 3 4 7 4 1 2 2 2 1 3 4 2 1 1 3

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Contribution to economic-related and social-related reforms

Strategy for internal audit and training of internal auditors in local government in Romania (SRSP 2017)

The overall objective of the support measures was to strengthen the operation of the public internal audit system in Romania, by providing support to the Central Harmonisation Unit for Public Internal Audit (CHUPIA).

The project delivered a new Public Internal Audit Strategy for t2020-2024 and a new training programme which laid the foundations for increased professional capacity of public internal auditors.

The strategy is already under implementation and the new curriculum is now part of the training programme for public internal auditors. The expected impact of the project is a stronger internal audit culture in the public administration, particularly at local level, as well as, a better public financial control framework and environment.

Creation of objective criteria for the recruitment and promotion of judges in Cyprus (SRSP 2018)

The overall objective of the support measures was to (a) bring Cyprus into line with most European countries, most of which already have in place objective criteria for the recruitment and evaluation of judges, (b) enhance the independence and efficiency of judges, and (c) establish meritocracy amongst the judiciary through the development of objective criteria in the recruitment, promotion and evaluation of judges.

The main deliverable was a two-fold report to the Supreme Court of Cyprus with specific recommendations on how to set objective criteria for the recruitment and the evaluation and promotion of judges both based on best practices in Europe and other parts of the world.

The proposed procedures for the criteria for appointment and promotion of judges were adopted by the Supreme Court of Cyprus and are now in place. It is expected that this will make positive impact on the quality of justice and form a basis for the establishment of meritocracy amongst judges.

Strategic human resources management and innovation in the public sector in Ireland (SRSP 2018)

The project supported the delivery of the Irish civil and public service modernisation strategy, through a process of deep stakeholder engagement. For the civil service (core administration), the focus was on reviewing the current human resources management system, and preparing to move toward a more strategic HR operating model.

The project engaged stakeholders from several departments (Irish ministries) to discuss and agree on ways and means of service transformation, and to address concerns and impact on roles and people. The outcomes were concrete transition initiatives related to talent management and strategic HR (including some centralisation of the HR function). As a next step, the Irish civil service will move toward delivering the transition plan.

On the public service side (including for example education and health), the focus was on how to build a stronger innovation culture. The project benchmarked the innovation maturity of several services, and prepared an improvement plan with twelve recommendations linked to: strategy, capabilities, leadership, network and central support, and resources. The relevant authority will now engage to deliver an innovation transformation roadmap, which the project had prepared.

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Tools to assist SMEs in Bulgaria with regulatory compliance (SRSP 2017)

The objective of the support measures was to support the Ministry of Economy to develop web-based, user-friendly tools for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to help them to better understand and comply with the regulatory framework.

The support consisted of (i) identifying the most complex and common regulations affecting businesses in their interaction with the administration (surveys, interviews and consultations); and (ii) developing simple, business-friendly web-based descriptions of the 120 most complex and common regulations.

The new tool is available on the Ministry’s website and more than 7,000 users accessed the simplified guidance in the first months after its publication.

Improving inland navigation and traffic conditions in the Antwerp port area in Belgium (SRSP 2018)

The objective of the project was to support the Port of Antwerp to reduce road congestion and improve the navigation and coordination of vessels in the port area by (i) investigating the concept of “inland nodes”, with a study on bundling volumes at consolidation points and providing regular services towards the port’s terminals;

and (ii) analysing four potential approaches and developing a business case for improved coordination of inland navigation, together with its system requirements. The Port Authority endorsed the business cases and technical solutions developed.

Water sector reform in Romania (SRSP 2017)

The objective of the project was to support the development of economic and environmental regulation in the water sector in Romania by: (i) developing a comprehensive information framework for the national water regulator, which was piloted on three regional water companies and (ii) providing a series of workshops and trainings for water industry stakeholders.

The project created a structure that would enable roll-out of information framework to water companies across Romania and incentivise improvements to their operational performance.

Education reform in Croatia (SRSP 2017)

The SRSP provided support to the Croatian authorities to implement the changes introduced by the new curriculum that encompasses all levels of education, namely teaching of new skills and competences, introduction of learning outcomes and use of formative assessment. As a result, the national authorities are equipped with (i) a set of more than 100 mentors duly trained in the new competences to train teachers, (ii) a rich set of audiovisual material uploaded on their e-platform to support teachers in schools, and (iii) a group of school leaders trained to train other leaders in becoming vectors of change.

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Health system reform in Slovenia (SRSP 2017)

The SRSP has been supporting Slovenia in four strategic reform areas, namely (i) governance of the health care system; (ii) long-term care; (iii) quality of care and patient safety; and (iv) financing of hospital services.

The collaboration between Slovenia and the Commission on key reform areas facilitated the preparation and adoption of laws and regulations and the deployment of tools to contribute to the quality, accessibility and long-term fiscal sustainability of the health and long-term care systems in Slovenia.

The support measures helped the authorities to (i) establish a comprehensive set of tools and mechanisms to improve the governance of the health system (i.e. a health system performance assessment and a health workforce planning), (ii) strengthen the implementation of a pilot in long-term care schemes that will facilitate the rollout of the system at national level, (iii) establish a national patient safety system and enhance the quality of care, and (iv) modernise the hospital financing system.

These reforms are key to ensuring adequate healthcare and long-term care are provided to the population.

Welfare (social benefits) reform in Croatia (SRSP 2017)

The SRSP has been supporting Croatia with the consolidation of social benefits. The SRSS, working with the national authorities, collected, classified, and analysed local social benefits using the standardised European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS) methodology, which now allows the national authorities to effectively monitor the type of benefits provided by local authorities. As a result, the national authorities can for the first time (i) analyse the effects of local benefits for poverty reduction, (ii) monitor the results of local public spending on social benefits, and (iii) support local authorities in strengthening the design of social programmes. Ultimately, the consolidation of social benefits according to the ESSPROS methodology will increase the quality of services provided to citizens as well as improve the targeting of social programmes to those most in need.

Spending review in Spain (SRSP 2018)

The objective of the project was to help implement a review of outpatient pharmaceutical public spending by carrying out nine technical reports to be used by the Spanish Independent Fiscal Institution (AIReF) to prepare its final spending review report.

The final report was published in June 2019. Before that, some of the recommendations made in the technical reports had already been endorsed by the Spanish government in its 2019 stability programme.

The objective is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending in Spain.

Revenue administration reform in Latvia (SRSP 2017, SRSP 2018)

The SRSP provided support to the State Revenue Service to implement the mid-term tax strategy by carrying out (i) a measurement of the VAT gap by industry sector and business segment and, (ii) an analysis of the different types of tax fraud being perpetrated in Latvia, including recommendations and training on tackling them.

The programme continues to support the State Revenue Service in 2018 and 2019 to implement the mid-term tax strategy. The objective is to improve the detection and deterrence of non-compliance and fraud in key tax areas and to increase state revenues.

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Public financial management reform in Portugal (SRSP 2017)

The SRSS provides support for implementation of the 2015 Budget Framework Law in the areas of cash forecasting, commitments controls and non-tax revenue collection. Following the advice provided, the Portuguese National Republican guard (GNR) will test a new accounting and collection process for non-tax revenue as from January 2020. The objective is to strengthen expenditure control and adequate budgeting in Portugal.

Strengthen the resolution capacity of the Romanian authorities (SRSP 2018)

The SRSP helped to conduct a crisis resolution exercise with the National Bank of Romania, the Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund and the Ministry of Public Finance. The exercise tested the procedures that Romania has in place to handle a collapsing bank. The exercise increased the capacity of the authorities to handle such situations and additionally identified a number of options for efficiency gains, which the Romanian authorities have implemented.

Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Insolvency Service of Cyprus (SRSP 2018)

The objective of the project was to support the Cypriot authorities in the reorganisation of the Insolvency Service. The support included working with the authorities to develop a new organisational structure for the Service, while putting in place a replacement and succession plan and establishing manuals and guides for staff on all core and sub-procedures in the insolvency framework. The authorities are moving forward with implementation by creating an organisationally independent Insolvency Service with the new structure responsible for the implementation.

Supporting the Croatian development bank (SRSP 2018)

The SRSP provided support to the Croatian development bank (HBOR) to introduce a medium-term strategy. The work involved (i) an internal and external analysis of HBOR’s environment, including an ex-ante market analysis, (ii) the development of a strategic plan, together with a methodology for monitoring and implementation, and (iii) proposals for organisational changes.

HBOR is now planning to take the strategic plan forward and move towards implementation.

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6. C

Structural reforms are crucial to modernising the economies of the Member States and to encourage investment, create jobs and raise living standards. The overall successful implementation of reforms requires good administrative capacity and a great sense of ownership of the reform process by the Member State concerned. The SRSP aims to help Member State authorities in their efforts to design and implement growth-enhancing reforms.

The second year of the implementation of the SRSP showed an increase in demand for the programme from Member States – 24 Member States submitted 444 requests for support (the SRSP 2017 round saw 271 requests for support from 16 Member States). This is the first indication that the support provided by the Commission is relevant and needed.

This report has also described how the Commission has implemented the measures funded under the 2018 SRSP and how it is monitoring actions finalised under both the SRSP 2017

This report has also described how the Commission has implemented the measures funded under the 2018 SRSP and how it is monitoring actions finalised under both the SRSP 2017