About the call
On 24 April 2024, on the occasion of the 4th Technical Support Instrument annual conference, the Commission launched a new call within the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) 2025 cycle. The aim of this call is to provide Member States with technical support for the design or implementation of reform projects in 2025. In particular, Member States can submit requests for technical support in a broad range of areas, such as green and digital transition, diversity, public and private finance, migration, business environment, health, skills and education.
To help the design of requests, DG REFORM created the Repository of reform support needs, meant to gather ideas on individual support needs uploaded by the different Member States, and to provide a space for discussion. This page can serve for the identification of synergies and for the creation and potential submissions of TSI Multi-country requests in the TSI 2025 call.
Repository of reform support needs
How can a Member State apply for reform support?
Member States have the possibility to submit a request for technical support, identifying the policy areas and the priorities for support by 31 October 2024. If an authority in a Member State – national, regional or local – wishes to request reform support under the TSI 2025 annual cycle, the relevant request templates can be found in the dedicated webpage. The Commission analyses the requests further to a dialogue with the Member States to assess the country's needs and the options to support the reforms. The Commission assesses the request for technical support further to a dialogue with Member States in accordance with the criteria and principles referred to in Article 9 of the TSI Regulation. The Commission starts deploying the projects on the ground after the adoption of the annual work programme of the TSI.
How does the reform support work in practice?
The support can cover all stages of reforms, from the initial design and conceptualisation phase, until the implementation, change management and evaluation phase. It can take the form of strategic or technical advice, studies assessing reform needs or options in specific areas, training or in-country missions by experts (Art. 8 of TSI).
The reform support delivered through the TSI:
- starts with a request of the Member State. Their ownership and engagement are key for the success of reforms.
- is tailor-made to each case and each country. The Commission identifies and analyses the exact need in each situation.
- brings to the country a unique combination of expertise. The Commission matches the best mix of expertise to the needs.
- is hands-on and concrete in delivery. The Commission enters a dialogue with the Member State on the request for support to understand the reform needs in detail, and how to best deploy the most relevant support in the swiftest possible way.
- strengthens the institutional and administrative capacity of a Member State to (i) design and implement reforms, (ii) facilitate the green and digital transition, (iii) address challenges identified in the European Semester, or (iv) apply EU law.
Which criteria does the Commission use to choose technical support requests in the TSI?
The assessment criteria and principles considered to assess the requests are defined in Article 9 of the TSI Regulation:
- Urgency, breadth and depth of the challenges identified;
- Support needs in respect of the policy areas concerned;
- Analysis of socioeconomic indicators, as well as institutional and general administrative capacity of the requesting Member State.
- The principles of transparency, equal treatment and sound financial management;
- Prioritisation by the Member State.
Why is the Commission involved in supporting reforms in Member States?
Through the TSI, the Commission is offering a unique service in form of provision of expertise related to policy advice, policy change, formulation of strategies and reform roadmaps, as well as to legislative, institutional, structural and administrative reforms. Sometimes the expertise will come from the Commission, sometimes through recognised experts in the area of the support needs. It can also come from other Member States that share their experience of implementing similar reforms.
How did DG REFORM select the flagship technical support projects for TSI 2025?
The flagship technical support projects for TSI 2025 were selected through a multidimensional process that took into account the EU priorities expressed in the main EU policies, the priorities indicated by Member States though their national coordinating authorities and expressed in the national RRPs, and via a sound dialogue with policy departments in the Commission. The list of flagship technical support projects is available on the dedicated webpage.
Flagship Technical Support Projects
General request template
Member States’ coordinating authorities can submit their requests for technical support through the Commission’s IT portal for request submission. Access to this portal is granted by DG REFORM. Both national coordinating authorities and beneficiary authorities can access the portal but only coordinating authorities can submit requests for technical support to the Commission.
Request for technical support - Templates 2025
Flagship support projects templates
The templates will be available soon