Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support

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Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support
AbbreviationDG REFORM
FormationJune 2017;5 years ago (2017-06)
Elisa Ferreira
Website https://reform-support.ec.europa.eu

The Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) is the European Union body assisting European Member States in the implementation of technical and structural reforms. [1] [2] [3] The Directorate-General succeeds the Structural Reform Support Service (SRSS) as of 1 January 2020 and coordinates the European Commission's work on designing and implementing national reforms and to coordinate and provide technical support to Member States through the Technical Support Instrument. [4]

Contents

History

The SRSS was created in June 2015 as a replacement for multiple different temporary Task Forces, each established on an ad hoc basis; instead, the EU's structural reform expertise would be centralised in a single organisational unit. [2] It was initially headed by Maarten Verwey, [5] who, as its Director-General, oversaw the Service's operations regarding the implementation of the Third Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece. [6] [7] Verwey's powers were described as "unprecedented", and his suitability for the position was questioned. [6] [8]

Operations

In December 2015, shortly after the SRSS' creation, Cyprus' government announced that they would cease cooperation with the World Health Organization towards a goal of a National Health Service, instead choosing to work exclusively with the SRSS. [9]

In 2018, the Irish government sought out assistance from the SRSS with regard to university funding. Ministers from the government described the SRSS as offering a "comprehensive examination". [10]

During the same year, the SRSS, jointly with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, released a report on economic development in Estonia. Focusing particularly on the financial technology industry, the report found "good conditions" for development of capital markets in the country. [11]

Between 2018 and 2020, the Service conducted a review of methods to tackle violence and bullying among minors in Slovenia. [12] Separately, it was also assigned the task of reforming bankruptcy procedures in Bulgaria, with a view to complying with requirements for entry into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. The Bulgarian project deadline was June 2019. [13]

In 2019, the SRSS funded a research project in Croatia investigating alternatives to the Standard Cost Model, a framework for measuring and quantifying administrative and regulatory burdens imposed on the private sector. [14]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Hauptman, Manica (7 June 2018). "Importance of public investment for economic growth in the European Union". Public Sector Economics. 42 (2): 131–137. doi: 10.3326/pse.42.2.6 . ISSN   2459-8860.
  2. 1 2 Dombrovskis, Valdis (17 June 2015). On the Commission's new Structural Reform Support Service (Speech). Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "Structural Reform Support". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Technical Support Instrument establishment". European Union Law. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  5. ↑ Turner, Zeke (23 October 2015). "(Greek) Mission: Impossible". Politico. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  6. 1 2 Weise, Zia; Holehouse, Matthew (21 March 2016). "Europe shuts door, but still the boats arrive" . Daily Telegraph. ProQuest   1774453645 . Retrieved 17 July 2020– via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ Tauber, Andre (18 September 2015). "Eine wundersame Wandlung vom Euro-Schreck zum Heilsbringer" [A miraculous transformation from Euro-scare to salvation]. DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  8. ↑ Henley, Jon (18 September 2015). "Eurozone's enforcer ready to keep Greece's new leader in line". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Christou, Jean (16 December 2015). "Health ministry ends cooperation with WHO". Cyprus Mail. Nicosia. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  10. ↑ Donnelly, Katherine (7 July 2018). "EU joins debate on education". The Irish Independent. Dublin. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  11. ↑ Barnes, Dan (1 April 2019). "Estonia builds its fintech muscle" . The Banker. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  12. ↑ Šulc, Ajda; Bučar Ručman, Aleš (5 October 2019). "Šola in medvrstniško nasilje v Sloveniji: raziskovalni pristopi, metode in metaanaliza dosedanjega raziskovanja v Sloveniji" (PDF). Šolsko Polje (in Slovak) (1–2): 63–88. doi: 10.32320/1581-6044.30(1-2)63-88 .
  13. ↑ "Bulgaria economy: ERM II in sight" . ViewsWire. The Economist Intelligence Unit. 31 October 2018. ProQuest   2127488932 . Retrieved 18 July 2020– via ProQuest.
  14. ↑ "Ex post evaluation of regulation in Croatia". Regulatory Policy in Croatia Implementation is Key. OECD Reviews of Regulatory Reform. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 18 June 2019. doi:10.1787/b1c44413-en. ISBN   978-92-64-68206-1. OCLC   1154139049. S2CID   241726221 . Retrieved 18 July 2020.
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