“We very often ask politicians what their visions are and what their problems are, but we do not ask these same questions of public administrations and the people who lead them”, said Heidi Maurer, Academic Lead of the EU-PALP Programme. Yet, as Florence School of Transnational Governance (STG) Executive Education Director Kristin Fabbe noted “Public administration is a vital category of the way politics works", making administrative capacity and agility crucial for European citizens.
In fact, European public administrations operate within a landscape of profound geopolitical shifts, demographic pressures, and demanding transitions toward a digital and green economy. To turn these hurdles into tangible progress, the EU has launched a collective effort to build stronger public leadership beyond national borders: the European Public Administration Leadership Programme (EU-PALP), one of the current 25 actions under the ComPAct, the European Commission’s strategic initiative to modernise and interconnect public administrations across Member States.
The EU-PALP Programme is funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) and implemented by the Florence STG of the European University Institute (EUI), in close coordination with the Secretariat General Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM) and the Schools of Public Administration of Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Poland, and Romania.
The first Peer Lab of the project, titled ‘Leading Under Pressure’, took place from 16 to 18 June 2026 in Warsaw, at the Lech Kaczyński National School of Public Administration (KSAP), where 44 senior public officials and 12 representatives from the Schools and Institutes of Public Administration of Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Poland, and Romania met to exchange experiences and rethink how public leaders can navigate mounting pressures and uncertainty.
A shared language as new strategic asset
At the heart of EU-PALP is the EU Public Administration Leadership Competency Framework, not a rigid blueprint but a "shared language" designed to facilitate administrative convergence. Grounded heavily in the principle of subsidiarity, it serves as an optional reference point that can be adapted to national specificities, while still driving collective capacity-building. "The traditional models of public administration are no longer sufficient," observed KSAP Director Małgorzata Bywanis-Jodlińska. In this "era of perma-crisis," public trust in state institutions and senior officials has experienced an overall decline. However, these difficulties also bring a silver lining. "The same challenges that pose so many hurdles for us also create new opportunities," pointed out Heidi Maurer, suggesting that pressures like artificial intelligence force administrations to innovate and improve how they deliver services.
A truly co-designed learning journey
To address these complex governance issues, "the most valuable resource in this room is not the curriculum, it's each other," reminded European Commission Seconded National Expert Léana Colgan, stressing during her introductory remarks that peer exchange across different national realities provides an irreplaceable form of knowledge. Supported by experts such as Arjen Boin, Dave Snowden, and Sonja Noss, through its first Peer Lab, this co-designed learning journey began building a lasting network grounded in collective intelligence, mutual learning, and cross-border trust. Throughout the sessions, participants explored how to exercise sound judgement when time is short and information is incomplete.
What’s next
After a series of online exchanges forming part of the programme’s blended learning format, the cohort will reconvene in Bucharest, Romania, in September 2026, to focus on implementation pathways.
Through close coordination, the Florence School of Transnational Governance and the National Schools of the six participating Member States are jointly shaping a new approach to leadership development. By moving beyond fragmented, local training, and embracing peer learning and a collective, transnational approach, they are contributing to a more coherent European administrative space that strengthens public administrations and ultimately delivers better outcomes for European citizens.
As noted by Pavel Ivanov, Executive Director of the Institute of Public Administration in Bulgaria, “The challenges facing public administrations are increasingly European. The development of public leaders should be European too.”
Learn more about #EUPALP and other projects or tailor-made programmes.