Speech by Michael Koehler, European Commission, on The European Neighbourhood Policy and public administration reform at the conference co-organised by SIGMA with the Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the EU at the Dead Sea, Jordan 10 May 2016.

1. The European Neighbourhood policy and public administration reform
Michael Köhler
Director for Neighbourhood South, DG NEAR, European Commission
Conference "The Principles of Public Administration – a framework for ENP
countries"
10 May 2016, Dead Sea, Jordan
Dear Minister, Deputy Director De Mello, Ambassadors, Excellencies,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to first thank you, Minister Fakhoury and your colleagues in the
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Public
Sector Development for co-hosting this conference together with the OECD and
the European Commission. It is a great pleasure to meet here at the Dead Sea.
I am also very pleased to see so many representatives from our partner countries
and international donor organisations as well as colleagues from the EU
Delegations.
We will discuss the importance of public administration reform today, but we
have to be conscious of one thing. Do we all have the same understanding of
what it means? For some of you it might be mainly about civil service reform,
for others it might be about improving service delivery and eGovernment. Some
of you might consider also public finance reforms. Public administration reform
can be limited or it can be wide. It all depends very much from the country
context. And it also reflects the different historical and political experiences of
our states. Clearly public administration reform is not understood in a same way
in a centralised and a decentralised state.
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2. [The key elements of the new ENP]
I will provide you in a moment the Commission's definition of public
administration reform and how the Principles of Public Administration fit in it.
But let me first say a few words about the revised European Neighbourhood
Policy. As you know, it was adopted only six months ago by the European
Commission and the High Representative, and it was fully endorsed by all EU
Member States. It provides a new political framework and defines the EU's
relations with the Eastern and Southern neighbours for the next years.
The main objective of the new ENP is to jointly create more effective
partnerships that will allow the stabilisation of the EU neighbours and create
more stable bases for increased prosperity and security of our peoples. We need
to commonly address the various sources of instability such as poverty,
inequality, corruption, weak economic and social development and lack of
opportunities, particularly for the young people. The EU will therefore apply a
smarter mix of incentives, crisis management and long-term opportunities.
Differentiation is central to the new ENP. The EU wants to work more
pragmatically and effectively with each partner according to both individual
aspirations and the EU’s own interests. The new ENP is therefore a real
opportunity to strengthen cooperation through a number of joint priorities. This
will also help to achieve greater mutual ownership.
The EU’s own stability is built on democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
These are the key universal values that the EU wants to promote in the new
ENP. A common ground on addressing these values can be achieved by
focusing on the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
its Sustainable Development Goals. All partner countries, all EU Member States
and the EU are committed to meeting them.
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3. [Public administration reform in the ENP review]
Ladies and gentlemen,
The new ENP acknowledges that public administration reform is essential, also
in view of meeting the key objective of stabilisation. Accountable public
administration at central and local government level is necessary to ensure
democratic governance and economic development.
The communication on the ENP policy lists a number of objectives for public
administration reform, including strengthening democratic and independent
institutions, supporting parliaments, developing local and regional authorities,
developing service delivery and eGovernment, depoliticising civil service,
improving capacity in policy development, increasing institutional transparency
and accountability, and improving public financial management.
These ENP policy objectives largely also correspond with the UN Sustainable
Development Goal number 16, which promotes peaceful and inclusive societies,
access to justice for all, and effective, accountable institutions at all levels.
[The proposed new framework for Public Administration Reform]
The communication on the ENP policy gives a hint about our proposed new
framework for public administration reform in the ENP countries. In brief, we
are advocating comprehensive PAR, inclusive PAR and cross-cutting PAR.
We believe this 'three pillar' framework will contribute to the key objective of
stabilisation. It also allows differentiation and supports greater mutual
ownership in the new ENP.
Since I promised to give you the Commission's definition of public
administration reform, let me start with the comprehensive PAR. We have first
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4. communicated this definition in 2014, in a strategy document for the
enlargement countries.
This comprehensive definition comes from the increased understanding in the
Commission, after working over more than twenty years with many transition
countries, that in essence, there are six core dimensions to public administration
reform. These dimensions are cross-cutting and mutually enhancing.
Let me now list them briefly:
1) The strategic framework for public administration reform – this
dimension highlights that reforms need to be well planned, communicated and
regularly monitored at the highest political level;
2) Policy development and coordination – this dimension highlights that the
quality of policies and legislation depends on the quality of inter-ministerial
coordination and involvement of citizens in policy-making;
3) Public service and human resources management – this dimension
highlights that a professional, depoliticised and ethical civil service is more
likely to be accountable and provide better public services to citizens;
4) Accountability – this dimension highlights the need to ensure citizens' rights
to good administration, access to information and access to justice;
5) Service delivery – this dimension highlights that administrative procedures
and eGovernment services need to be responsive to businesses’ and citizens’
needs and cut red tape to the extent possible;
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5. 6) Public financial management – this dimension highlights that a robust
public financial management system is a precondition for prevention of
corruption and effective service delivery.
The Commission has worked very closely with OECD/SIGMA to define each
core area in detail with the Principles of Public Administration, which
SIGMA will present today. These principles are based on the universal
principles of good governance and international standards. They describe the
requirements for a well-functioning public administration.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are strongly convinced that the ENP countries should use this broad PAR
reference framework and the supporting Principles, when engaging in policy
dialogue and financial assistance. We also would like to advocate this
framework among the donors who provide support on PAR.
The advantage of this framework is that it is objective and it allows
differentiation. Countries can address reforms comprehensively or only in one
area that is most relevant for them, while maintaining an overview on how all
the areas link to each other.
Beside comprehensive PAR, we also advocate inclusive PAR. The new ENP
policy calls for engaging with civil society and economic and social actors to
advance fundamental reforms. We therefore promote open government, which is
transparent, allows citizens' access to information and encourages citizens to
participate in decision-making. It equally means about supporting civil society
to become a constructive partner in policy-making.
Inclusive PAR includes also the support to gender equality and local authorities.
The EU is committed to promote gender equality in line with the EU Gender
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6. Action Plan 2016-20, which also contributes to meeting the Sustainable
Development Goal 5 on gender equality. Even though the Principles of Public
Administration have been prepared with a central government in mind, many
principles apply by analogy to local governments. We are therefore also
committed to improve local authorities' capacities for transparent and
accountable policy-making and service delivery.
The third element in our proposed new framework is cross-cutting PAR. In
short, we believe that better policy and legislative development, and an effective
public administration is key to the success of our sectoral support, be it in
environment, energy, agriculture, education or any other sector.
Our twinning and technical assistance projects are already supporting good
policies and legislation, but quite often we regret to observe poor track records
with implementation and enforcement. It is therefore necessary to start to also
address the policy development process. For example, are the fiscal and other
impacts of laws and policies properly assessed? Are sufficient funds for
implementation ensured in the budget? Are proposals consulted with other
ministries and external stakeholders?
If the answer is no to most of these questions, then it is likely that the adopted
laws will be difficult to implement. Our increased focus on 'better regulation' is
especially important for countries with the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade
Areas in force or in preparation. But it is equally important for other countries,
as it contributes to better policies and more open governments.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The European Commission is proposing a new approach to public
administration reform in the ENP countries. We advocate a comprehensive yet
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7. differentiated approach, supported by the Principles of Public Administration.
We promote an inclusive approach addressing open government, gender equality
and local authorities. We also advocate better policy and legislative
development in sectoral policies.
The conference today offers you the possibility to express your views on this
proposed new framework and the Principles of Public Administration, share
your experience on PAR and reflect on how to use the new framework in your
own local specific context.
I encourage you to engage as much as possible in these discussions, so that we
can later on focus on how to engage with each of you. As you know, the EU has
already started to consult partner countries on future assistance priorities. Each
partner country needs to therefore consider why public administration reform is
important to them and how to best address it. We are ready to support
comprehensive stand-alone PAR programmes or address PAR through civil
society support or through sectoral programmes. Also, certain elements of PAR
could be addressed under economic reform and rule of law programmes.
Let me conclude by saying that we are not promoting public administration
reform for the sake of public administration reform. It is not an end in itself. It is
a means to help each country to achieve specific objectives and tackle specific
challenges, be it economic development, poverty reduction, fight against
corruption or ensuring peace and stability.
In fact this is at the heart of the reform agenda of each country and should be a
common thread throughout the partnership priorities that we are currently
negotiating with many ENP partners.
Thank you for your attention.
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