According to a recent flash Eurobarometer survey conducted in April 2023, Europeans appreciate the EU’s support in providing expertise and technical assistance to Member States in implementing reforms across various policy areas. The survey results confirm the importance and need for support offered by the Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI), which assists Member States in designing, amending, implementing and revising the transformative reforms included in their Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs).
The survey also revealed that 42% of Europeans believe that fostering the exchange of good practices among Member States is the most significant action the EU can take. At the same time, 42% of respondents highlighted the importance of EU support to Member States in managing crises, such as pandemics, natural disasters or conflicts. Additionally, 34% consider that the EU could provide knowledge and expertise to Member States in designing and implementing reforms, and 34% say that the EU could provide financial support to Member States’ reforms.
The survey shows that public administrations in the Member States could be more effective and efficient, as more than 45% of citizens think that the public administration in their country is complex, burdensome, and slow. To increase confidence in their country’s public administration, Europeans think that it should be less bureaucratic (52%) and more transparent (44%) about decisions and the use of public funds. About a third of respondents think that more communication and streamlined interaction with citizens, and better skilled civil servants, would help improve trust in the public administration.
The survey also revealed that reforms are most needed in public health (56%) and education (50%). In 11 Member States, more than 60% of citizens are urging reforms of public health.
The TSI responds to Member States’ requests for support in the reform needs they have identified. Through the TSI, the EU provides expertise and technical support, enables and fosters exchanges of information among countries, and develops capacity in public administrations. So far, more than 400 TSI projects, including several new projects for 2023, have been or will be contributing to the preparation or implementation of Member States’ RRPs, including reforms to promote the capacity-building of public administrations.
The results of this survey will inform the implementation of TSI reform projects. For example, the Public Administration Cooperation Exchange (PACE) flagship will support more than 300 civil servants from 18 Member States to gain exposure to good practices in other administrations, transfer skills and build expertise. Further exchange opportunities will be on offer in 2024.
The TSI is part of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and builds on the success of its predecessor, the Structural Reform Support Programme (SRSP). Since 2017, more than 1,500 technical support projects have been implemented in all Member States with the support of the TSI and the SRSP.
Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said, “This survey confirms that the work of the Technical Support Instrument is aligned not only with the identified needs of public administrations but also with the role and actions that citizens expect the EU to take. I am particularly happy to see that fostering the exchange of good practices among Member States is considered the most important action for the EU. This is exactly what the TSI does with multi-country and cross-regional projects and with the new Public Administration Cooperation Exchange (PACE), which allows civil servants to learn best practices from administrations in other Member States.”