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Technical Support Instrument - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements

530
requests
were received by 27 Member States under the 2023 programme.
151
programme reform projects
translating to 326 reforms were selected under the 2023 programme.
33
multi-country projects
were selected under the 2023 programme, translating to 202 reforms in the Member States.
77%
of the projects selected under the 2023 programme
are directly or indirectly linked to national recovery and resilience plans.
28
projects
were funded under the dedicated call for Ukraine launched in March 2022.
94%
of projects selected for funding
under the 2021 and 2022 programmes were on the ground and running at the end of 2022.

Budget for 2021-2027

Rationale and design of the programme

With the Technical Support Instrument, the European Commission will accompany Member States’ efforts to tackle reform challenges by offering them technical expertise to enhance their capacity to carry out reforms and to foster the exchange of good practices across the EU. The programme also supports the design and implementation of Member States’ recovery and resilience plans.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

  2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Total
Financial programming 116.4 118.7 121.1 123.5 126.0 128.5 130.4 864.4
NextGenerationEU                
Decommitments made available again (*)               N/A
Contributions from other countries and entities   6.4            
Total  116.4  125.1  121.1  123.5  126.0  128.5  130.4  870.8

(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.

 

more or less

  Financial programming:
  + EUR 0.4 million (+ 0%)
  compared to the legal basis*

* Top-ups pursuant to Art. 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.

 

  • As of the first quarter of 2023, it is not foreseen that the current inflation in the eurozone would have an impact on the financial implementation of the programme.

 

Budget performance – implementation

Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

  Implementation 2021-2027 Budget Implementation rate
Commitments 241.1 870.8 27.7%
Payments 90.0   10.3%

 

Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR) (1):

  Commitments Payments
  Voted budget implementation Initial voted budget Voted budget implementation Initial voted budget
2021 116.1 116.4 26.4 59.2
2022 118.6 118.7 60.0 80.2

(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.

Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

  Implementation Estimates Total contribution % of the 2021–2027 budget
  2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027    
Climate mainstreaming 25.0 21.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 46.5 5%
Biodiversity mainstreaming 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0%
Clean air 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0%

 

  • The programme has contributed to the green transition in the following ways.
    • EUR 46.5 million of the 2021 and 2022 budgets was devoted to projects covering climate mainstreaming, representing 5.3% of the 2021-2027 budget.
    • The programme’s contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation was increased in 2022, as the 2022 programme assisted Member States in the context of the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and in the area of building renovation, for example by supporting the establishment of a one-stop shop on energy renovation of private residential buildings in Wallonia (Belgium).
    • The programme provided support to Member States in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation, including for the preparation of long-term climate mitigation strategies, such as in Lithuania and Romania. In Denmark, the programme supported the engagement of municipalities and citizens in the transition towards climate neutrality. It also assisted with the prevention of climate-induced disasters, such as in Portugal with a focus on wildfires. The programme also supported Member States in water-related reforms to ensure compliance with relevant EU directives.
    • In line with the 2030-2035 EU waste management targets, the EU action plan for the circular economy and the zero pollution action plan, the programme helped Hungary, Portugal and Slovakia in the preparation of their national circular economy plans and strategies, and Spain, Cyprus and Romania for the improvement of their waste management.
  • The programme provided support for biodiversity protection, for example by helping Finland to fight forest pest risks, and Hungary to assess the exposure of financial institutions to the risk of biodiversity loss. 

 

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

Gender score 2021 2022 Total
0*

116.1

116.3

232.4

2

0.0

2.4

2.4

(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);

- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.

 

  • The programme contributes to gender mainstreaming. For example, in 2022 projects in five different Member States were selected for funding, under the ‘Gender mainstreaming in public policy and budget processes’ flagship. These five projects aim at helping the Member States to practically improve the gender equality within their budgets, as is also expected of the recovery and resilience plans and other EU funds and programmes.

 

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

  2021 2022 Total % of the total 2021-2027 implementation
Digital contribution 18.5

28.1

46.6

19%

 

  • The programme provided support towards Member States’ digital transition in several projects, in line with the Europe fit for the digital age action plan and the ‘2030 digital compass: the European way for the digital decade’ communication. Particularly, through the programme, DG Structural Reform Support provided expert advice on how to enhance digital skills and facilitated the digital transformation of businesses and the economy, along with public administration. In 2022, the programme had three flagship projects focusing on the digital transition, as shown below.
    • The ‘Development of resilient, innovative, and human-centric’ flagship project focused on the development of strategies and action plans in specific areas, to help achieve the digital transition of the EU public sector and contribute to delivering a ‘Europe fit for the digital age’. The coordination of these strategies has fostered the exchange of best practices and helped to identify sustainable ways to further enhance services. The support helped Member States to lead in-depth analyses of their current systems, capabilities and gaps. It also supported the development of mechanisms to improve central digital functions, making them more user-centric, resilient and innovative.
    • The 2022 flagship project on ‘Digital skills for digital transformation of health and care systems’ supported five Member States (Estonia, Spain, Italy, Lithuania and Romania) in designing and implementing national roadmaps for digital skills for the health workforce and in strengthening their digital health literacy.
    • Moreover, the ‘EU supervisory digital finance academy’ flagship project is supporting 20 financial supervisory authorities in Member States in coping with the risks and opportunities associated with the use of advanced technologies in the financial sector.

 

Budget performance – outcomes

  • In 2022, the programme supported Member States’ efforts to design and implement resilience-enhancing reforms. It also continued to contribute to the EU’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, improving the quality of public services and helping to get the Member States back on the path of sustainable and inclusive growth. The programme directly and indirectly supports Member States for the implementation of their recovery and resilience plans.
  • In 2022, the programme also responded to another emergency: supporting Member states to tackle the effects of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. To this end, DG Structural Reform Support launched a dedicated programme call in March 2022 to help Member States: (i) welcome and integrate forcibly-displaced persons from Ukraine; (ii) reduce their dependence on imports of Russian fossil fuels; and (iii) strengthen their capacities to implement sanctions. In total, 28 projects were funded under this dedicated call.
  • As a result of the 2023 programme round, 27 Member States submitted 530 requests for support with a total estimated value of EUR 295 million. DG Structural Reform Support identified 151 projects for funding covering 230 selected technical support requests. The selection followed a thorough prioritisation exercise carried out according to the programme regulation and a wide consultation of 25 Commission departments to find synergies and complementarities and avoid overlaps with other programmes. The high satisfaction feedback provided by Member States’ coordinating authorities is a recognition of the DG’s work.
  • In 2022, building on recurring common needs from the Member States, together with other Commission services, DG Structural Reform Support proposed pre-identified areas of possible support to be carried out by the 2022 programme, namely the ‘flagship technical support projects’, which are aimed at streamlining the areas of reform as part of the traditional tailor-made requests from Member States. At the same time, the DG gives Member States the possibility of making multi-country technical support requests, in order to rationalise the number of requests and to promote a more comprehensive and priority context for offering EU support, along with enhanced mutual learning.
  • It is estimated that over 60% of projects selected under the 2022 programme contribute to the implementation of the recovery and resilience plans. In particular, four Member States started receiving general support for the implementation of their plans in 2022, bringing the total number of Member States benefiting from such support to 19. This allows public administrations to set up the right mechanisms and build their capacity to implement and monitor their plans across all of its components. In addition, thematic support has been provided in 2022 to 23 Member States to facilitate the implementation of specific reforms and investments in the recovery and resilience plans across various policy areas.
  • The programme also helped to strengthen the green and digital transition in the Member States.

Green transition.

  • The 2022 programme assisted Member States in the area of energy and green transition, in particular in the context of the energy crisis triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To this aim, via its dedicated call on repowerEU, DG Structural Reform Support supported 17 Member States in identifying the most relevant reforms and investments to phase out reliance on Russian fossil fuels. The DG also supported Member States as part of the 2022 programme flagship on building renovation, for example by supporting the establishment of a one-stop shop on energy renovation of private residential buildings in Wallonia (Belgium).
  • The programme supported the development of renewable energy, for example in the electricity sector in Slovenia. In the Netherlands, the programme supported the development of hydrogen by focusing on a better understanding of safety risks. Furthermore, the programme supported Member States in improving their capacity to plan the decarbonisation of energy systems, inter alia by facilitating the development and effectiveness of energy and climate-modelling tools.
  • The programme provided support to Member States in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation. For example, the 2022 programme supported the implementation of the Just Transition Mechanism, such as in Czechia and Slovakia. Moreover, in the area of sustainable transport and mobility, the programme supported the development of sustainable urban mobility plans and concluded projects on building knowledge and capacity for the development of high-speed railways.

Digital transition.

  • Through the programme, DG Structural Reform Support provided support towards Member States’ digital transition in several projects, for example on how to enhance digital skills for, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy and Slovakia. The programme also contributed to the development of resilient, innovative and human-centric digital government services in Estonia, Ireland, Greece, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia and Portugal. The programme provided technical support to improve competitiveness through horizontal digital strategies (coherent 5G digital infrastructure, broadband and very high-capacity network development, for instance in Czechia), digital transformation of the industry (including in specific key sectors such as construction) and enabling better digital environments for government and businesses to interact and operate (real-time economy, e-receipts, e-procurement and e-licencing). The programme also supported improving the productivity and competitiveness of Estonian small and medium-sized enterprises through real-time economy and single contact point digital solutions. In Slovakia, technical support focused on the design of grant schemes for the development and application of top digital technologies. The programme supported Cyprus in building capacity at the newly established Broadband Competence Office, which will operate as a single point of reference in the broadband sector, and in implementing broadband investment projects, which is also supported through the Cyprus recovery and resilience plan.
  • In 2022, the programme also focused on reinforcing its collaboration with Member States and among the Commission services in order to further advance the work on public administration and governance. The expert group on public administration and governance gathers representatives from public administrations in the Member States to discuss common challenges and ways to address them. The public administration cooperation exchange initiative was launched to enable exchanges of civil servants from national administrations in selected areas.
  • The programme has supported Member States in the field of migration. In 2022, the programme has been supporting 14 Member States to improve migrants’ access to essential services such as health or school education or to facilitate access to jobs. Out of these, nine Member States benefited from urgent support with welcoming and integrating persons displaced to the EU, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, under the dedicated programme call launched in April 2022.
  • The programme has supported Member States in the field of public financial management by helping them improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of public spending. The programme has supported Member States in the field of revenue administration by helping them to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of their tax and customs administrations. The programme has also supported national tax authorities in improving and rationalising tax policy through new or enhanced tax frameworks and policy instruments, with a particular focus on environmental tax reforms.
  •  In the area of good governance, DG Structural Reform Support supported several Member States in strengthening their policymaking through new methodologies and tools. For example, in Austria, the supported development of an agent-based model to simulate the effects of policy measures prior to their implementation will enhance the use of evidence from behavioural insights. Croatia was supported to develop a framework for costing government policies, to allow the prioritisation and economic and social impact analysis of reforms and investments.
  • In the area of judicial reforms, the programme supported several Member States to strengthen their justice systems, including through an enhanced use of mediation, and to modernise their proceedings through digitalisation. For example, in Cyprus, the programme provided further support for the creation of an independent court service, relieving courts from administrative burden, and in reviewing the court registries’ processes to improve efficiency in case management.
  • The programme supported some Member States in the area of anti-corruption and integrity. For example, relevant national authorities received support to establish monitoring mechanisms of their anti-corruption national plans, to revise their rules to manage conflicts of interest and to ensure supervision of public expenditure.
  • As part of the 2022 programme flagships, DG Structural Reform Support supported several Member States to build more sustainable, resilient and digital tourism ecosystems. In order to strengthen the investment climate, Member States requested support on attracting foreign investments. In Portugal, technical support aimed at providing the authorities with a better understanding of the regulatory obstacles that are holding back investment, which in turn will help implement structural policy reforms in order to attract and retain high-quality foreign investment. In the area of better regulation, the programme funded projects to improve impact assessment and decrease gold-plating and administrative burdens to doing business.
  • In the field of education and training, the programme supported Member States in designing new skills strategies and learning frameworks, as well as governance and monitoring mechanisms of national action plans in the area of digital education. The programme also helped Member States render their education systems more inclusive and equitable, including by working with them on a multi-country basis (Spain, Italy, Portugal). Programme supported Member States to improve the impact of curriculum reforms (Croatia, Lithuania) and raise the quality of early childhood education and care (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Austria).
  • Under the flagship project ‘Implementation of the European child guarantee’ the programme funded technical support to help Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia and implement and monitor education and social reforms under the European Child Guarantee.
  • In the area of social services, the programme intervened to support the reform of disability and elderly care policies, and the design and evaluation of inclusion policies targeting vulnerable groups. In line with the priorities of the initiatives included in the European Year of Youth, DG Structural Reform Support supported several Member States, including Romania, in strengthening their youth-related policies.
  • In the area of labour market and employment, the programme contributed to strengthening public employment services and to designing and implementing active labour-market policies in several Member States, among which Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece and Sweden. Technical support focused on issues such as the gender employment gap, the inclusion of inactive persons in the labour market, undeclared work and labour exploitation.
  • In the area of health, the programme supported Member States on reforms targeting access to and quality of primary care, workforce health, health information systems, health system performance assessments, telemedicine solutions, e-health national strategies, cancer prevention strategies and digital skills of the health and care workforce.
  • In 2022, the programme continued to expand the work supporting Member States in the financial sector. Several projects were delivered in the area of digitalisation of financial markets, sustainable finance, anti-money laundering, financial literacy, reinforcing financial stability, improving consumer protection and business practices, insolvency and the effective and uniform implementation of sanctions.
  • Moreover, in 2022, through the programme, four multi-country technical support projects were launched, covering areas such as supervisory capacity in sustainable finance with four Member States, enhancing supervisory capacity in the area of correspondent banking with seven Member States, effective and uniform implementation of the sanctions regime with three Member States and launching the flagship initiative ‘EU supervisory digital finance academy’ with 20 Member States.
  • Of particular importance was the programme support for the national recovery and resilience plans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. 77% of the projects selected in programme 2022/2023 contribute to recovery and resilience plan implementation.
  • In 2022, DG Structural Reform Support also developed a robust set of communication initiatives to put the programme in the spotlight, such as the organisation of its second annual conference, with the participation of high-level representatives from the European Commission, Member States and other institutions. The conference highlighted the way programme supports Member States for the successful design and implementation of resilience-enhancing reforms, in particular in the context of the recent crises (COVID-19 pandemic, unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine).
  • In 2022, DG Structural Reform Support also developed its first external communication strategy in line with the DG’s mandate and the successful initiatives launched in previous years. The strategy will be adopted, presented and implemented in 2023 and will contribute to strengthen its external communication and increase the visibility of its work. The programme website was launched and made available in all EU languages, and is continuously being developed to include a new country dimension featuring dedicated Member State webpages. Moreover, in cooperation with beneficiary authorities and implementing partners, DG Structural Reform Support organised awareness-raising events in a number of Member States.

Sustainable development goals

Contribution to the sustainable development goals

SDGs the programme contributes to Example
SDG1
End poverty in all its forms everywhere

In the field of social security and social welfare, the programme is contributing to strengthening the effectiveness of social assistance benefits, reforming the social housing policy and improving the quality and coverage of social services for vulnerable groups. In particular, the support measures for social protection and social welfare are expected to increase Member States’ capacity to prepare, implement, monitor and evaluate reforms of social policies and programmes, as well as to deliver social protection benefits and services, especially to the most vulnerable populations, such as children, the unemployed, the elderly and people with disabilities and long-term care needs.

Specific project examples.

2021 programme – Reform of the French National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy: The Commission is supporting the French National Solidarity – Fund for Autonomy, a French social security agency responsible for the provision and monitoring of long-term care services and transfers, to reform its own internal structure and cooperation framework with the regions and departments. The project is providing the agency with concrete recommendations, a new reorganisation strategy and cooperation framework and implementation support to carry out its newly-assigned responsibilities, most specifically as regards the provision of technical support to the regions and departments, and ensuring equality of treatment of all French citizens through continuous monitoring and evaluation efforts. Over the long run, this is expected to increase the overall focus and quality of long-term care services and transfers offered across the French territory.

Under the 2022 programme flagship project ‘Implementation of the European child guarantee’, DG Structural Reform Support launched technical support to help Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia and implement and monitor education and social reforms under the European Child Guarantee. The Council recommendation on the European Commission child guarantee is a major EU initiative to prevent and combat child poverty and social exclusion and provide fair access to education and social services to children from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.

SDG3
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

In the area of health, the measures are expected to contribute to: (i) the provision of strategic and operational tools for the governance, planning, monitoring and evaluation of health system resources in the areas of anti-microbial resistance, eHealth, emergency medicine, health system performance assessment, health technology assessment, cancer prevention, genomics and long-term care; (ii) the development and implementation of tools for improving the skills and expertise of the health workforce; (iii) recommendations and tools for improving the accessibility of healthcare and public health, and the effectiveness of payment models; and (iv) the design and implementation of effective and efficient care delivery models.

Specific project example: Developing eHealth for a healthier society in Slovenia. Through this 2021 programme technical support project, the Commission supports the Ministry of Health of Slovenia to develop an eHealth strategy and an investment plan that will outline the objectives and priorities for the development of eHealth in Slovenia for the 2022-2027 period. The technical support measures consist of enhancing the capacity of national authorities to develop the eHealth strategy and an implementation plan by analysis of data, demonstration and transfer of experience, knowledge and best practices from other EU Member States. The project is expected to contribute to the optimisation, integration and connectivity of existing information systems and databases, the effectiveness of management and control processes and data security. This technical support is linked to the planned investments in the Slovenian recovery and resilience plan. It will contribute to the rollout of electronic healthcare records, the setting up of a national telemedicine framework and to future-proof legislation that will enable better health and care for all.

SDG4
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

The Programme has been funding technical support projects in the areas of skills, education and training which are expected to increase the quality, relevance and inclusiveness of education and training and contribute to: (i) an enhanced capacity of the central, regional and local authorities to design, implement and evaluate curriculum reforms, using a more evidence-based approach; (ii) better tools for short- and mid-term workforce planning, based on supply and demand for teachers; (ii) increased inclusiveness and quality of the education system and more equitable learning opportunities for students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds (iii) improved monitoring and evaluation systems for assessing the quality of early childhood education and care and the impact of investments with regards to digitalisation of education; (iv) increased coherence, effectiveness and efficiency of the evaluation and quality assurance for VET and higher education; (v) consolidated academic career reform for enhanced impact and sustainability; (v) increased adults’ participation in training.

Specific project example: The European Commission, through the TSI 2021 supports the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Research in the development of a digital upskilling curriculum for teacher educators and an educational media strategy including a revised delivery model that integrates digital media. The project focuses on two systemic obstacles for the implementation of Austria’s ambitious reform agenda for the digital transformation of the education system. Based on an analysis of the status quo in Austria and good practices from other EU Member States, it is expected that the Austrian authorities will have a tried and tested set of tools to support the digital upskilling of teacher educators. The project is also expected to provide them with a validated proposal for a revised delivery model for educational media and a concept for its implementation. They will also present a clear roadmap with proposals for the implementation and communication of these two key areas on the reform agenda for the digital transformation of the education.
SDG5
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
The programme has funded projects aimed at ‘Gender mainstreaming in public policy and budget processes’, which helped Member States understand ways of taking into account the gender impacts of policies and budgeting, or to address related gaps. It offers technical support to analyse policies and budgeting from the point of view of gender mainstreaming, helping to make sure that all citizens, regardless of gender, are able to fully participate and contribute to a fair society.
SDG7
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

In the area of sustainability, technical support contributes to improving Member States’ preparedness to reach climate and energy objectives, in particular climate neutrality by 2050. This will include, for example, improved implementation and effectiveness in climate and energy policies, such as faster permitting processes, design of positive energy districts and effective support schemes for renewable energy and an increase of their deployment, better preparedness for the inevitable impacts of climate change through climate adaptation, increased energy efficiency in buildings and other sectors such as transport, along with improved energy markets.

Specific project example: Energy transition safety: Through this 2021 programme project, the Commission aims to address the existing gaps in knowledge related to the hazards and risks of hydrogen, and how the precautionary principle could be best applied for the energy transition in the Netherlands. The Commission helped to improve knowledge of hydrogen safety risks, developed coherent risk-based guidelines for ensuring adequate application of the precautionary principle in the energy transition, along with risk-management recommendations for further regulatory development. The project will deliver improved and transparent conditions for investment and innovation in low-carbon technologies and especially hydrogen, contributing towards the European Commission’s priorities for 2019-2024 including the European Green Deal and the EU hydrogen strategy.
SDG8
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

All areas of the programme contribute to sustainable economic growth and thus employment.

As an example, we highlight measures supporting labour market policies. These are expected to contribute to: (i) help to maintain a high-level of employment through improving the effectiveness of public employment services and the quality and coverage of active labour-market policies; (ii) an increased offer and availability, better quality and adequate quality assurance system for up and reskilling programmes, in particular in view of equipping people with digital and green skills and to better address labour market requirements and skills mismatches; and (iii) increased administrative and analytical capacity of public employment services, including through the systematic collection of data needed for policy design and implementation purposes, more effective governance mechanisms and analytical tools to assess and anticipate labour market developments and profiling of job seekers.
SDG9
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

In the area of sustainable industrialisation and innovation, the support measures are expected to contribute to the efforts of the national authorities towards building sustainable, resilient and digital industrial ecosystems, in order to make EU industry more competitive globally, while enhancing Europe’s strategic autonomy, e.g. by securing mineral raw material supply. In particular, the support measures are expected to contribute to the elaboration of more resilient and competitive horizontal, regional and sectorial strategies, address strategic dependencies, build better conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship, for example through the promotion of intellectual property rights and support provided to the market by local and regional authorities, protect businesses from unfair competition and build the workforce for the green and digital industrial ecosystems of the future. Furthermore, the support measures are expected to help Member States create more resilient and innovative economic activities, including at the regional level. The support measures will also contribute to encouraging safe and clean transport and sustainable tourism.

For example, in Hungary, technical support under the 2022 programme contributed to the implementation of the national strategy for strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises, focusing inter alia on enhancing their performance in innovation and digitalisation.
SDG10
Reduce inequalities within and among countries

Through technical support measures targeting regional and local authorities, the programme offered support to Member States on enhancing central coordination of the state with regional and local authorities and capacity-building to reinforce their coordination structures, with a view to improving policy coordination, cooperation, responsiveness, resource mobilisation, coordinated planning and strategic foresight. Support measures are also helping regional and local administrations to translate the national digital transition plans at the regional and local levels.

In addition, as competitiveness requires a coordinated approach at the national and regional levels, there has been a stronger regional dimension of technical support in recent years. For example, the 2022 programme assisted the Spanish authorities with promoting entrepreneurship in four autonomous communities in selected sectors.
SDG11
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

National smart cities strategy: The 2021 programme supported the Portuguese authorities aiming to define the strategy, to foster the development of smart cities that provide people-centred, inclusive, sustainable and interoperable services to citizens and businesses throughout the national territory. 

In addition, as part of the 2022 flagship on ‘Building renovation’, the programme helped Member States design and implement reforms to address some of the key barriers to building renovation, which is expected to pave the way for a decarbonised and clean energy system. For example, the 2022 programme supported the establishment of a one-stop shop on energy renovation of private residential buildings in Wallonia (Belgium).

Moreover, the programme, through technical support in the ‘Recharge and refuel – clean, smart and fair urban mobility’ flagship project, supported Member States, regions and cities wishing to promote future-proof clean, smart and fair urban mobility. In Poland, the support focused on helping local and regional authorities to develop sustainable urban mobility plans.
SDG12
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

In line with the 2030-2035 EU waste management targets, the EU action plan for the circular economy and the zero pollution action plan, the programme supported a number of Member States towards improving waste management and transitioning towards a circular economy.

For example, the programme helped Hungary, Portugal and Slovakia in the preparation of their national circular economy plans and strategies, and Spain, Cyprus and Romania for the improvement of their waste management.
SDG13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

In the area of sustainability, it is expected that the programme will help improve Member States’ preparedness to reach climate and energy objectives, in particular climate neutrality by 2050. This will include, for example, improved implementation and effectiveness in climate and energy policies, such as better preparedness for the inevitable impacts of climate change through climate adaptation, increased energy efficiency in buildings and other sectors such as transport, along with improved energy markets. It is also expected that Member States will advance towards a better implementation of the sustainable development goals, improved water and air policies and the implementation of the circular economy.

Specific project example: Policy coherence for sustainable development in Italy: In order to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Italian government adopted a national sustainable development strategy in 2017. The Commission is supporting Italy in the implementation of this strategy. The support aims at creating a more coherent and effective approach to sustainable development by mainstreaming sustainable development goals into Italy’s policymaking and addressing related governance challenges.

The project includes an in-depth analysis of the current governance approach, workshops to strengthen capacities and the development of an action plan for improving policy coherence with the sustainable development strategy
SDG15
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

In the area of sustainability, the programme is expected to help improve Member States’ preparedness to reach climate and energy objectives, in particular climate neutrality by 2050. More specifically, the support measures are expected to help Member States to improve environmental enforcement and environmental inspections, prevent and manage wildfires, implement coastal protection and develop sustainable aquaculture.

Supporting the prevention of wildfires in Portugal

This technical support project aims at contributing to the implementation and operationalisation of the national action programme for the prevention of rural wildfires in three pilot regions, in view of protecting Portuguese citizens’ lives and their property from these fires, identifying and managing susceptible territories and ensuring proper care to ecosystems, all while changing citizens’ behaviour towards the use of fire and other fire-prone activities. The project is expected to contribute to bridging the institutional gaps, fostering collaboration and cooperation and balancing resources between wildfire prevention and suppression.

SDG16
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

In the fight against corruption, programme support is, inter alia, expected to raise awareness among public and private sector organisations and increase the capacity to prevent, investigate and prosecute corruption. The support measures for justice systems are expected to help make them more efficient and transparent. The support is also expected to help improve the quality of the work of judges and court staff and strengthen the independence of justice systems. Finally, support should also help in achieving specific goals, in particular the protection of victims and of vulnerable individuals and populations. The support measures for e-government / digital public administration are expected to contribute to improve the information and communication technology maturity of Member States, enabling them to deliver better digital public services to citizens and businesses. The technical support is expected to help improve the quality of public administration work, focusing for example on greater efficiency, sustainability, better accountability, along with a reduced administrative burden for citizens and business and improved services for citizens and businesses.

Specific project examples:

Ensure child-friendly justice through effective operation of the Barnahus-units in Finland: This 2021 programme project aims to ensure that all children in Finland involved in child abuse investigations benefit from a high-quality assessment in child-friendly settings, appropriate psychosocial support and child protective services. In 2019, Finland initiated its own nationwide Barnahus project to be implemented around the core of five university hospital expert units specialising in forensic psychology/psychiatry (Barnahus-units). The project aims at supporting the Finnish authorities in addressing the needs and challenges identified since the launch of their national project, so as to reduce significant existing delays in the pre-trial and judicial processes involving children. The project will contribute to judicial reform in Finland, with the purpose of improving the access and quality of the justice system for child victims of violence in Finland

Archived versions from previous years

Technical Support Instrument PPS