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Structural reform support programme

The EU structural reform support programme (SRSP) is intended to help member states to design and implement institutional, administrative and structural reforms and to use EU funds that are available for such purposes more efficiently and effectively.

The programme runs from 2017 to 2020 and has a budget of €142.8 million.

The programme is complementary to the existing EU programmes and resources available for capacity-building and technical assistance. Its added value is the provision of assistance, advice and expertise on the ground, i.e. to the national authorities of the requesting member states, throughout the reform process or in its individual  phases.

The proposal for the programme drew on the positive experience the EU had with providing technical assistance to Greece and Cyprus in the context of the implementation of their economic adjustment programmes. This programme makes such expertise available to all EU member states.

Chronology

The European Commission submitted the proposal for a regulation establishing the structural reform support programme in November 2015, as part of the package of documents for the 2016 European Semester. The Council reached an agreement on it with the European Parliament on 8 February 2017. The Council adopted the proposal on 11 May 2017, following the European Parliament's approval on 27 April 2017.

In December 2017, the European Commission submitted a proposal to increase the financial envelope of the structural reform support programme by €80 million and adapts its general objective. The Council reached an agreement on it with the European Parliament on 11 July 2018. 

Key points

Legal framework

The regulation was adopted by the Council of the EU, together with the European Parliament (under the ordinary legislative procedure). The Council voted on the proposal by qualified majority.

In the Council, the proposal was examined by the Working Party of Financial Counsellors.

Adoption of the proposal required amending of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 establishing the common provisions for all the European Structural and Investment Funds - the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) - and Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 on the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

Aim and goals

The main goal of the programme is to help a country implement growth-enhancing structural reforms. These should help enhance competitiveness, increase productivity and sustainable growth, create jobs, and boost investment, in particular in the context of economic governance processes.

The programme also proposes assistance for the efficient, effective and transparent use of Union funds.

The programme aims to achieve this goal by helping member states improve their administrative and institutional capacities. This, in turn, should help them ensure a better implementation of EU law and of the country-specific recommendations which member states receive each summer in the context of the European Semester (the EU's economic policy coordination system). Such coordination is necessary in order to achieve greater convergence between the EU economies and sustainable economic growth across the EU.

Reforms to be supported under the programme

The support will be provided to the member state's authorities upon a request from that member state. 

The support will be available for reforms which are:

  • connected to the implementation of country-specific recommendations issued under the European Semester and other measures related to the implementation of EU law
  • related to the implementation of specific economic adjustment programmes
  • implemented by member states on their own initiative with a view to securing sustainable investment, growth and job creation

The support will be provided for the most important reforms and issues, as agreed by the requesting member state with the European Commission.

The Council proposed a number of adjustments to the draft regulation concerning the role of the member states in the processes for requesting such support, and on the implementation and monitoring arrangements.

Budget

The regulation provides for a budget of €142.8 million. This amount will be deducted from existing technical assistance resources received under the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI funds). 

The Council proposed that the deduction of resources from ESI funds should be exceptional and without prejudice to any future proposal.

In December 2017, the European Commission proposed to increase the financial envelope of the programme by €80 million. 

See also

  • 2018

    18 July

    Council presidency reaches political agreement with the European Parliament

    On 11 July 2018, the Austrian Council presidency and the European Parliament reached an agreement on increasing the budget of the structural reform support programme. EU ambassadors confirmed the agreement on 18 July. 

    The text will now undergo legal and linguistic finalisation. The Parliament is expected to vote on the final text in September. Adoption by the Council and publication in the OJ should follow shortly after.

  • 2017

    11 December

    Council receives proposal to increase the financial envelope of the structural reform programme

    Since the structural reform support programme entered into force, member states have fully availed of the programme and requests for support have significantly exceeded the amount of funding available for its annual cycles. The Commission therefore proposed to increase the budget of the structural reform support programme by €80 million for the period 2019-20.

    It also proposed to adapt its general objective, using the SRSP also to support structural reforms of member states' preparations to join the euro area. This would complement the programme's initial objective of helping support the implementation of reforms aimed at sustaining growth in the context of EU economic governance, as well as own-initiative structural reforms. 

  • 2017

    11 May

    Council adopts the regulation on the structural reform support programme

    On 11 May, the Council adopted the final version of the regulation establishing the structural reform support programme, following the European Parliament's approval on 27 April 2017.

    The regulation is directly applicable in all EU member states and enters into force on the next day after its publication in the EU's Official Journal.

  • 2017

    8 February

    Council presidency reaches political agreement with the European Parliament

    The presidency of the Council successfully concluded negotiations with the European Parliament on the proposed programme.

    The text of the proposal is to be finalised during further technical talks. The Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) of the Council is expected to endorse the agreement ahead of the European Parliament's plenary vote.

  • 2016

    28 April

    Council agrees its negotiating position

    The Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) agreed the negotiating position on behalf of the Council.

    The Presidency proposal for the Council negotiating position received  broad support. The proposals in the text includes strengthening the position of member states in requesting, implementing and monitoring  the support. It also proposes that the deduction of resources from ESI Funds be exceptional and without prejudice to any future proposal.