Keywords: European administrative space; Public management reform; Budget reform; Eurozone crisis; Economic policy coordination.
This article examines the administrative reform proposals of the European Commission
by analyzing the Country Specific Recommendations – CSRs addressed to Italy
within the framework of the European Semester. Over the years reform proposals
have been treated differently within the CSRs, potentially weakening their effectiveness
and credibility. Furthermore, a review of the secondary literature on budget
reforms in Italy shows that implementation has been assessed by the European
Commission with reference to the mere adoption of laws, while overlooking context
and process of reforms. In a nutshell, the article shows that the European Semester
did not provide support to the Italian government that still lacks the capacity to
maintain coherence between strategic ideas for administrative modernization and
reform measures.