ENHANCING THE EUROPEAN ADMINISTRATIVE SPACE AS A MEANS OF STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS OF THE EU MEMBER STATES

Abstract

This article examines the European Commission’s initiative to strengthen the European Administrative Space, which aims to improve the institutional capacity of the public administration systems of the EU Member States. The aim of the article is to clarify the key elements of the European Commission’s Communication on strengthening the European Administrative Space, as well as the possibilities offered to the EU Member States by the relevant financial instruments to improve the quality of public administration. It notes that the term «European Administrative Space» has been widely used in the EU since the early 1990s to describe the growing convergence of administrative practices between Member States, based on shared values and principles, towards common standards and approaches to administrative activities. The article examines the Public Administration Principles, a new version of which has been developed by the SIGMA Programme as part of a joint EU – OECD initiative. The article analyses the key components of the policy of strengthening the European Administrative Space, which are crucial for the work of public administration: skills; digital transformation; green transition. The implementation of activities under these pillars is voluntary and demand-driven, and Member States can participate in the initiative at their own pace and according to their needs and national institutional framework. The article examines the specificities of the functioning of the Technical Assistance Instrument (TAI), a financial policy instrument of EU created to strengthen their capacity to develop and implement the reform agenda, including in the context of national resilience and recovery plans. It also notes that, in the context of the Commission’s policy priority of accelerating the process of European integration and improving enlargement policy, the ITP was open to candidate and potential candidate countries, which participated as observers, together with Member States, in the implementation of certain technical assistance projects. The article concludes that measures to strengthen the European Administrative Space are fully in line with Ukraine’s public policy on public administration reform.