EU High Level Advisers’ Mission: public discussions on public administration reform strategy

The conference dedicated to consultations on the concept of the Strategy of public administration reform in the Republic of Moldova took place in Chișinău, on 28-29 November. As a candidate country for joining the European Union, Moldova is committed to updating the strategic and political framework of public administration reform, and the Conference aimed to advance the consultation process of the Strategy by initiating a broad and open dialogue on all its components. Special attention was given to the reform options and solutions for increasing the capacities of local public administrations (LPAs).

The public debate process aimed to improve the Strategy through extensive consultations with local actors – representatives of the central and local public administration, including representatives of the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM), national and international experts and representatives of the associative sector.

At the opening of the event, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilița, stated: “First of all, the central administration must be more efficient. We need a simple, clear and transparent legal and institutional framework. We need to eliminate overlapping powers between institutions and ensure inter-institutional coordination, better synergies between all central structures. It is a need dictated not only by the requirements of European integration, but also by our commitment to spend public money efficiently and strictly for the benefit of the people,” concluded the official.

For his part, the EU Ambassador to Moldova, Jānis Mažeiks, mentioned the important period that the Republic of Moldova is going through on its European path: “Public administration reform is one of the processes that will demonstrate the maturity of Moldovan society, of its political and social actors. The goal of the reform is an effective and efficient public administration, with professional, competent, independent civil servants who provide accessible services for the benefit of all citizens, both at the central and local level.”

Guido Beltrani, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in the Republic of Moldova, emphasised: “Decentralisation and administrative-territorial reform is necessary not only for citizens – given the fragmentation and limited fiscal capacities of local public authorities. This is necessary, especially for local public authorities. Fragmented local authorities have limited capacity to deliver quality services to citizens. Local democracy, local self-government does not only mean being close to the people, but also having the power to change realities. Regarding the allocation of resources from the central level to the local level, this should be done on the basis of strict and transparent criteria to avoid inequalities and tensions.”

Over the course of two days, the guidelines for public administration reform in the coming years were presented in terms of the new requirements determined by the accession process of the Republic of Moldova to the EU and the country’s commitment to implement them.

Considering the complexity of the topics addressed, the support given to the Moldovan Government by the development partners is a confirmation of their openness to support Moldova’s efforts in advancing the consultation process and implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy and strengthening the country’s European path. The conference was organised with the support of the European Union, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and took place over two days, on November 28 and 29, 2022.

The draft of the Public Administration Reform Strategy can be consulted at https://particip.gov.md/ro/download_attachment/17480.

The conference can be watched live at https://www.privesc.eu/Arhiva/1012