Lessons Learnt from Public Investment Management Reforms in Selected EU Member States

Cristiana Manescu, Emily Cariou Reynell and Lazaros Dimitriadis

No 243, European Economy - Discussion Papers from Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission

Abstract: This paper analyses recent major Public Investment Management reforms whose implementation started or advanced between 2020 and 2025. It highlights their scope, the challenges they aim to address, and lessons learnt during implementation. Most of these reforms were financed by the European Commission through the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Among the TSI and RRF financed reforms, the paper identifies 19 PIM reforms in nine Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and Slovakia). Most reforms focused on the first three stages of the investment cycle, namely strategic planning, appraisal and selection, and budgeting. Of these, the appraisal and selection stage was reformed in most countries (seven Member States). While most reforms targeted two or three elements of the cycle, only in Bulgaria and Lithuania, the reform design targeted the different elements of the cycle simultaneously rather than in isolation. Such integrated approaches to PIM reform have highest chance of reducing inefficiencies given that the investment stages are strongly interlinked. Interviews with Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania and Slovakia suggest that successful reforms rely on a combination of sustained political commitment, broad stakeholder acceptance and sufficient resources. A PIM competency centre, often under the Ministry of Finance, can ensure the capacity building and the necessary authority for engagement with all relevant bodies. Other lessons learnt include effective integration of planning and budgeting and the positive impact of publishing feasibility studies for transparency and debate. Overall, PIM reform is a continuous process of learning, adaptation, and collaboration, which takes several years.

JEL-codes: E62 H41 H54 H82 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2026-04
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:euf:dispap:243

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