Budget Support Guidelines

OVERVIEW

What is it?

The guidelines spell out the rationale of EU budget support and explains how to design and implement budget support operations, in line with the EU budget support policy (2011) and related Council Conclusions (2012). They abide by and detail the provisions of the article 236 of the EU Financial Regulation applying to budget support.

The guidelines were last updated in September 2017 to take account of the new international context (Sustainable Development Goals, Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, EU Consensus on Development). Besides they also implement the Commission Staff Working Document Collect More, Spend Better adopted in 2015.

The guidelines are also available in French, Spanish and Portuguese. They are public documents.

What can it be used for?

The guidelines cover all practical aspects of budget support from intervention design to final evaluation. They explain how to deal with budget support eligibility and, in doing so, provides for guidance which may prove to be useful to engage with partner countries in another context or to manage other types of operations.

This is notably true when the guidelines touch upon fundamental values, policy dialogue, the intervention logic, the relevance and credibility of public policies, macroeconomic stability, public finance management and domestic revenue mobilisation or fiscal transparency.

The guidelines apply to EU general budget support (also in fragile or post-crisis/disaster situations) and sector budget support. They must be used in all regions, including the European Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans.

When can it be used?

The guidelines cover the whole intervention cycle.

Who can use it?

All EU services (INTPA, NEAR, EEAS) at the headquarters and delegation levels. They can also be of interest for DGs dealing with internal EU policies and actions.

What are its strengths?

The guidelines are comprehensive and reflect 20 years of Commission's experience with budget support, which is recognised by EU member States and the international community.

Moreover, they build on a series of external evaluations and reports by the European Court of Auditors, which contributed to improve EU practises in managing budget support.

What are its limitations?

They provide generic guidance, which must be implemented in each context according to its peculiarities and to EU objectives pursued in the country or with a given operation.

They do not provide for detailed guidance on how budget support should be designed in every sector or policy field, notably when it comes to assessing the content of partner countries’ policies or to select relevant performance indicators. Operational managers should refer to dedicated sector or policy guidance issued by the EU or international organisations.

Moreover, they have been not made a living document on line and therefore the latest provisions or templates must be consulted or downloaded in the Companion or from INTPA intranet.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Key elements

The EU budget support guidelines consist of the following:

• the chapter 1 states the purpose, scope and structure of the guidelines;
• the chapter 2 summarises the definitions, policy context and objectives of budget support;
• the chapter 3 sets out how the fundamental values have to be used and assessed as preconditions for budget support, and during implementation;
• the chapter 4 outlines key themes that need to be considered throughout the programme cycle, focusing on eligibility criteria, policy dialogue, risk assessment and management, performance assessment, domestic revenue mobilisation, accountability, fraud and corruption, and capacity development;
• the chapter 5 summarises the programme cycle and outlines what analysis and documentation needs to be prepared at each stage.

A number of annexes provide further guidance on thematic topics and procedural requirements:

1. Glossary of terms
2. Objectives and intervention logic
3. Assessing public policy eligibility
4. Assessing macroeconomic eligibility
5. Assessing public finance management eligibility
6. Assessing eligibility on budget transparency and oversight
7. Risk management framework
8. Variable tranche design and performance indicators
9. State and resilience building contracts for fragile situations
10. Budget support in Small Island Developing States and Overseas Countries and Territories
11. Domestic revenue mobilisation
12. Assessment of fundamental values
13. Policy dialogue in the context of budget support

Requirements

Data/information:

Recent information on the EU budget support portfolio (concrete cases; contribution to policy results achieved by partner countries; annual commitments and payments; financial/geographic distribution; indicators used for the disbursement of variable tranches) are provided on the EU dedicated webpage, INTPA intranet pages or Capacity4Dev.

Time:

N.A.

Skills:

Several training opportunities are proposed to EU staff: e-learning, training courses and internal workshops organised with budget support practitioners in Brussels and in Delegations. The e-learning course is publicly available and the training courses can also welcome outsiders on demand, be they from partner countries, EU Member States or international organisations.

Facilities and materials:

N.A.

Financial costs and sources:

N.A.

Tips and tricks:

N.A.

RESOURCES

Where to find it

The European Commission, 2016. Tools and Methods Series, Guidelines N.7. Budget support guidelines

Complementary guides, methodologies and tools

The European Commission, DG INTPA, 2021. Budget support - Trends and results 2021

My INTPA, E1: Budget Support  

Capacity4Dev: Budget Support Network 

INTPA Academy: search "Budget support"

EU Learn:  Budget support and Aide budgetaire

OECD: Budget Support Evaluation Methodology