Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs 2011

Introduction The work: full examination of 13 national reform programmes (NRP, 2011): FR, UK, DE, PL, LV, CZ, DK, CY, ES, BE, RO, IE, EL. The reforms were examined under 7 different headings: ● the public sector (public spending, administration, etc.); ● public employment; ● public services; ● healthcare; ● education and skills; ● social inclusion; ● local and regional government. Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Introduction Main difficulty : If all the NRP cover the following three aspects: 1. macroeconomic aspect (scenario and surveillance) 2. policy coordination by area 3. horizontal questions (structural funds) / methodology each member states use different indicators for the section 2: ● 5 targets of Europe 2020 ● 10 guidelines ● AGS priorities ● Euro Plus Pact All these indicators overlap. But their priorities cannot be said to be totally identical (AGS, 10 GL, etc.) Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Introduction “Conclusion” of this introduction: ● It is very hard to build a methodology in order to clearly compare reforms in the countries and possible links between national reforms and European recommendations. ● Furthermore, the seven topic headings covered in this report do not correspond to any specific set of Europe 2020 indicators (in particular, public sector, public employment, public services, local and regional authorities, health care). It was therefore necessary to establish which of all the measures announced in the NRP might bear some relationship to one of these seven headings. ● However, we can identify some major trends in the NRP, which are synthetized below. Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Main findings 1. Public sector and government spending : Measures are mainly related to: ● controlling costs (FR, UK, GR, LV, CZ, CY) ● improving efficiency and transparency of public administration (UK, GR, LV, CZ, ES) ● enhancing the efficiency of public spending (D, PL, GR, CZ, RO) ● restructuring or liberalizing of public enterprises (GR, LV, CZ, RO). ● in a very lesser extent: green public investment plans (DK, ES). Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Main findings 2. Public employment : Measures are mainly related to: ● pension reforms in public sector (FR, UK, GR, IE, CY, RO) ● wages (GR, LV, CZ, CY, ES, RO) ● some hiring freeze (GR, CY) ● (No measures : DE, PL, DK, BE) Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Main findings 3. Utilities sector: Measures are mainly related to: ● competition in the energy markets (FR, UK, DE, RO) ● competition in the transport sector (FR, DE, GR) ● competition in the post and telecom sectors (FR) ● development and modernization of infrastructures (DE, PL, CZ, DK, CY) ● some privatizations (GR, RO). ● (No measures : IE, LV, ES, BE) Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Main findings 4. Healthcare sector: Five countries have adopted healthcare reform (DE, GR, CZ, CY, RO). In these reforms, measures are mainly related to: ● reducing expenses ● reorganization of the healthcare systems ● putting in place mechanisms to control spending ● better manage drugs supplies ● in a very lesser extent: some other measures are taken in order to enhance access to health services for disadvantaged people (DK, RO). Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Main findings 5. Education: Measures are mainly related to: ● access to educational facilities and their availability (FR, UK, IE, CZ, DK, ES) ● strengthening of vocational training and apprenticeship (FR, UK, PL, LV, RO, ES) ● lifelong learning (FR, PL, LV, NL, RO) ● issue related to certification, assessment, curriculum (GR, CZ, RO, ES) ● organization, restructuring and structural reforms (GR, DK, RO) ● focus on targeted people (DE, IE) ● better matching education with the needs of the labour market (DE, CY). Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Main findings 6. Poverty and Social inclusion: Measures are mainly related to: ● Specific actions towards targeted people (disabled, elderly, migrants, etc.): most of these actions are linked with active policies (FR, DE, PL, IE, GR, LV, CZ, DK, CY, ES, RO) ● Development of social services (PL, GR, CZ, DK, RO) ● Reforming the welfare system (UK, LV, CZ, CY, RO) ● Income (protecting income, fight against indebtedness, income inequality) (IE, GR, LV, SP, B) ● Housing (FR, CZ, ES) ● Social economy (FR, PL, GR) ● Special attention to children and education (UK, PL, GR). Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Main findings 7. Local and regional administration in the NRP is focused only on: ● fiscal discipline at the local/regional level (UK, PL, GR, LV, ES, RO). Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Questions Question 1: real consistency between European process and national reforms? ● The national reform programmes appear to resemble a beauty contest. The member states draw attention to all measures that can be “pegged to” one or other of the European indicators, in the hope of demonstrating their compliance with the European agenda. And yet it is hard in some cases to see any real connection between the measures presented in the NRP and the European goals. ● For instance: competitiveness as an instrument to fight social exclusion? Or: introduction of a flat tax, presented as a contribution to the sustainability of public finances? Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Questions Question 2: What about the “absent” reforms? ● The NRP reports do not necessarily reflect the whole gamut of reforms introduced in the member states. In relation to industrial relations, collective bargaining systems and labour law, S. Clauwaert has described a series of recent trends – such as the decentralization of collective bargaining in Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, or Romania, and even the abolition (Hungary) or reduction (Romania) in the role of social dialogue institutions – which do not necessarily receive any mention in the NRP. ● It thus becomes apparent that the NRP do not necessarily provide a full overview of the reforms adopted in the member states. Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Questions Question 3: What link with the Council recommendations? ● In some cases, it is very difficult to find a clear link between NRP’s and the Council recommendations (which are adopted in July, ie after the adoption of the NRP in April-May). ● There seem to be a general imbalance between EU recommendations (mainly focused on public finances and social issues) and Europe 2020 (which include topics such as climate change, energy, research and development, poverty…). It’s as if recommendations were closer to the AGS and Euro Plus pact priorities than to Europe Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Questions Question 3: What link with the Council recommendations? Other kind of strangeness. UK and social inclusion : - PNR: UK will “reduce the number of children in workless households” - Recommendation #4: EU recommend “to reduce the number of workless households by targeting those who are inactive because of caring responsibilities” In this case, recommendation doesn’t add anything to the PNR. Why such a recommendation? Is it to legitimate by EU what is already decided by UK? Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Conclusion To conclude : - It was the first “European Semester” and the process is not already very clear - With the recommendations, the focus is mainly on public finances issues (government spending, public administration, public enterprises, etc. ) and social issues (pension reforms, active labour market policies, wages, control spending in the healthcare sector, etc.). - unsurprisingly, on these two topics, the EU semester mainly gives arguments to rightwing politics at the national level. Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

Conclusion Not in the report: AGS 2012 (23/11/2011) - one of the new priorities is: “Modernising public administration” ( Public administration = “element of competitiveness” and “productivity factor”) - Minimising administrative burdens, avoiding “gold platine”, simpler and quicker procedures - Increasing administrative efficiency (by online public services) - Reducing the time for starting up of a company to 3 days - Building administrative capacity (absorption rates of EU funds) - keeping public expenditure growth below the rate of medium- term trend GDP growth Christophe Degryse © etui (2011) Overview of the measures taken up in the NRPs

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