To help Member States address the challenges that public administrations face, the Commission has developed a wide range of instruments over the years: from strategic and operational analysis to the design and the financing of reforms and investments; from the provision of evidence to advice and guidance from relevant stakeholders, including other Member States.
This is reflected in the Commission’s approach on Supporting public administrations in EU Member States to deliver reforms and prepare for the future.
Coordination of Public Administration and Governance
Since 2018, DG REFORM coordinates, within the Commission, the broad and crosscutting topic of public administration and governance. DG REFORM pools and develops the Commission’s knowledge on the way in which the public administrations in the EU Member States function, the challenges they face and what approaches can help improve their operations and hence trust. This includes:
- Country and thematic knowledge development through briefs and studies, by collecting data and information on the EU Member States’ public administration characteristics and reform trajectories. This is done notably through the European Public Administration Country Knowledge (EUPACK) project.
- The Assessment Framework for Public Administration and Governance is an indicator-based assessment framework that is being developed for the European Semester. This Framework provides for a systematic and coherent overview of the Member States’ performance in areas with a direct link to economic efficiencies and their ability to implement reforms. The framework covers five performance areas:
- policy planning, development and coordination,
- civil service and human resource management,
- accountability,
- service delivery and
- public financial management.
The Commission works constantly to extend the range of indicators, improve data collection methods and provide access to data.
Based on the country and thematic knowledge, DG REFORM contributes to the assessment of public administration’ functioning and performance notably in the context of:
- the European Semester;
- the Recovery and Resilience Plans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility;
- the Rule of Law mechanism.
The Expert Group on Public Administration and Governance facilitates the dialogue between the Commission and representatives of the Member States in the policy area. The aim is to identify common challenges for public administration and innovative approaches to address them.
Moreover, DG REFORM chairs the Inter-Service Group on Public Administration Quality and Innovation (IGPA), which is a network that provides a platform for Commission services' coordination and sharing of knowledge on public administration and governance. It contributes to the development of consistent and enhanced synergies among the numerous related initiatives of the Commission.
Events
2022 - 10 years of cooperation with the Greek Public Administration
This conference took place on 29 June 2022. The event was organised by DG REFORM in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the support of the Presidency of the Greek Government, to mark 10 years of cooperation, in the area of public administration and governance, among the European Commission, the French Republic as Reform Partner and the Hellenic Republic as Beneficiary.
This Technical Support Instrument (TSI) funded event will represent the formal kick-off of this multi-country project to strengthen capacity for evidence-informed policymaking with Greece, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Netherlands.
The project will be implemented with the support of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
2022 - First meeting of the Expert Group on Public Administration and Governance
The inaugural meeting of the Expert Group on Public Administration and Governance chaired by the European Commission took place on January 31st.The Expert Group on Public Administration and Governance was established on December 17th, 2021. It represents an important step for the Commission in its efforts to enhance cooperation with Member States in the area of Public Administration and Governance.
The online conference took place on the 25 November 2021 and built on previous discussions on how to support public administrations in the EU. The high-level panels discussed how the MS public administration is impacted by broad challenges such as demographic change, the complexity of policy issues, or the twin transition. Eight workshops expanded upon these issues discussing among others public administration skills gap, adaptation strategies, interoperability and innovation within public administrations.
2018 - Quality of Public Administration: What have we learned, what can we do better
The 2018' event presented results from a systematic study on the traits of public administrations in all EU countries, related reforms and the role EU support plays in improving the quality of public institutions.
Newsletters
DG REFORM will be publishing a series of newsletters that will be shared with the wider Public Administration and Governance (PAG) community. The goal of the newsletter is to continue building and promoting the work of various stakeholders in the PAG community at all levels. With it we aim to share the latest developments in the space with our stakeholders, inform the readers about the Technical Support Instrument and contribute to ongoing discussions.
The second issue of the new Public Administration and Governance Newsletter from January 2023.
The first issue of the new Public Administration and Governance Newsletter from October 2022.
