Council agrees its position on an instrument to support implementation of reforms for a sustainable recovery

As part of its measures to foster the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, the EU will support member states’ reform efforts to stimulate growth and put their economies back on track.

EU ambassadors today endorsed the Council’s position on establishing a “technical support instrument”. This instrument will help member states strengthen their administrative capacity to prepare and implement reforms, so as to foster their resilience and support their recovery.

The position agreed today will serve as the basis for the Presidency in its negotiations with the European Parliament which are set to start as soon as possible. However, it does yet not cover the budgetary aspects of the draft regulation since an agreement on the overall next Multiannual Financial Framework was achieved only yesterday.

The proposed technical support instrument is a successor to the structural reform support programme. It will ensure that the Commission can continue to provide tailor-made expertise on the ground and that member states have the necessary institutional and administrative capacity to develop and implement growth-enhancing reforms.

More specifically, the technical support instrument is also meant to complement the Commission proposal for a recovery and resilience facility that will provide large scale financial support for public investments and reforms in order to foster member states’ recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The instrument will in particular support member states in the preparation and implementation of their recovery and resilience plans. The Council position also includes the possibility for member states to provide additional resources for technical assistance they will receive from the EU.

Next steps

On the basis of this partial negotiating mandate, the Presidency will start negotiations with the Parliament as soon as the Parliament has adopted its position.