Brussels will support 170 structural reforms in the EU this year. Sixteen are in Portugal – Community funds

The European Commission announced this Tuesday that will support over 170 reform projects across the European Union (EU), of which 16 are in Portugal. The support given by Brussels will only be technical, but it is intended to contribute to improving the “competitiveness, resilience and modernization” of the EU, in the year of European elections.

This technical support approved by the European Commission will be provided under the Instrument of Technical assistance (IAT). O Support does not take the form of a financial envelope, but rather the provision of “specific, high-quality skills and knowledge” and “may take the form of strategic or technical advice, reform needs assessment studies, training or in-country expert missions”.

Thus, the countries responsible for each of the 170 selected reform projects will receive technical support from the European Commission, so that the planned reforms can be implemented.

A Modernizing the public administrations of the Member States is one of the priorities of these reforms, in line with the Commission’s intention to strengthen the “European Administrative Area” (ComPAct). The reforms approved in this area aim to support the digital transition and explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in processing data “securely and effectively” in Social Security, welfare and employment.

The list of approved projects also reveals that almost a third of the reforms that will be supported by the IAT this year aim to contribute to the implementation of the Ecological Pact Industrial Planthrough the transition to a climate-neutral economy, the promotion of biodiversity and ecological transport.

On the other hand, the IAT – which has a budget of 864 million euros (at current prices) for the period 2021-2027 – It will contribute to increasing digital financial literacy and mitigating the impact of demographic changes in various sectors, such as health and social protection systems, migration, public policies and budgeting.

In the case of Portugal, there are 16 reform projects that will be supported. Of these, 9 are transnational reform projectsthat is, which will be worked on by Portugal together with other European countries, among which the improvement of regulatory impact assessment in national energy regulators and the training of the child protection system with the intention of adopting deinstitutionalized approaches stand out.Reforms are also planned in contractualization between levels of Government, specialized training in the field of rural fires and the creation of a coordinated approach for the integration of migrants.

List of reforms that will be supported by Brussels in Portugal this year:

– Contracting between levels of Government: training, monitoring and evaluation;

– Promote a higher education system more adapted to the labor market: towards an improved skills forecasting system;

– Implementation of the National Qualification Plan and development of a common framework for specialized training in the field of rural fires;

– Integrated methodology for program budgeting, green budgeting and gender-responsive budgeting and expenditure analysis;

– Integration of population-based care and management through local health units;

– Optimization of performance budgeting within the scope of Medium-Term Frameworks in Portugal;

– Support a new institutional framework and a coordinated approach to the integration of migrants.

Transnational projects:

– Strengthen cooperation in the use of distributional impact assessment through microsimulation;

– Increased capacity for authorization, supervision, recovery and resolution of central counterparties;

– EQUAL AI: the role of public administration with a focus on equality bodies;

– Improve the Government’s capabilities to guide complex priorities and manage crises and megatrends through peer assessment and learning;

– Strengthen national strategies and frameworks to support victims of crimes in Estonia, Portugal and Malta;

– Improve regulatory impact assessment in national energy regulators;

– Promote the mental health of young people, addressing the risks of online gambling and betting;

– Increase the quality of early childhood education and care by strengthening governance, monitoring and evaluation;

– Empower the child protection system in Portugal towards deinstitutionalized approaches.