Study on Distributional Impact Assessment

This study first aims to understand to what extent and how do EU Member States make use of (ex-ante) distributional impact assessment (DIA) for budgetary measures. It also aims to identify the main reasons limiting the use of DIA in Draft Budgetary Plans (DBPs) and to assess the degree of similarity in the use of DIA among Euro Area Member States. The study then aims to provide suggestions for increasing the use of DIA in EU Member States and suggestions regarding the design of a possible EU Common Framework in this area. The study shows that, even if most of the Member States performed at least some DIA in recent years for budgetary matters, they could still do much more in this respect and that they (Euro Area Member States) rarely included DIA in their Draft Budgetary Plans due to organisational issues (e.g., lack of time and no specific request from the ministerial hierarchy). To encourage the use of DIA as well as its inclusion in budgetary documents, such as the DBPs, the study makes several suggestions to both the European Commission (such as hosting workshops on DIA for Member States and offering to interested Member States some guidance on DIA) and to the Member States (depending on their frequency of DIA use). Most of these suggestions to the Member States are then further structured into a possible EU Common Framework for DIA use in official documents (including in DBPs), which aims to help interested Member States to increase their use of DIA and ensure its quality. This Framework is split into two different sets of suggestions which reflect two possible levels of ambition for Member States regarding their use of DIA (a basic level and an advanced level). The basic level, which proposes good practices for DIA, would aim to help some of the EU Member States (those with no or little DIA use) to perform more DIA (and of sufficient quality). The second level – acting as an additional layer on top of the basic level and proposing best practices for DIA - would aim to help those Member States with more frequent DIA use to perform more advanced forms of DIA.