Supporting Moldova’s pro-European reform process

Project description

Title: Policy Advisory Fund in the Republic of Moldova
Commissioned by​​​​​​​: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)​​​​​​​
Country​​​​​​​: Republic of Moldova
Lead executing agency​​​​​​​: Cancelaria de Stat / State Chancellery of the Republic of Moldova
Overall term: 2022 to 2025

Context

The Republic of Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe. It is suffering from the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

The new government elected in 2021 is pursuing an extensive reform programme. It plans to promote economic development, reform the country’s judiciary and administrative structures, improve living conditions and continue moving closer to the European Union (EU). The government has already achieved initial successes such as Moldova’s status as an official EU candidate country since June 2022.

An effective public administration is necessary to implement the government’s ambitious plans. However, the processes within and cooperation between public authorities are currently inefficient and not clearly defined. The public administration is also lacking qualified professionals.

Objective

The public administration of the Republic of Moldova is capable of implementing the government programme in line with the EU Association Agreement.

Approach

The project works in the following fields of action to support the government’s reform programme:

1. It improves the methodological and human resource capacities of public authorities. For example, it builds the skills of civil servants and promotes efficient organisational processes. This enables the government to prioritise reforms and to coordinate and work on the EU association requirements and its budget planning.

2. Based on these measures, the project enables selected public institutions to implement the government programme. Improved staff capacities, optimised structures and procedures, and better cooperation make it possible for the relevant institutions to more effectively implement individual reforms.

3. The project supports the Diaspora Relations Bureau (Biroul relații cu diaspora, BRD) in mobilising Moldovans living in other European countries. It encourages them to make investments, found companies or return to Moldova. The programme advises on how to build on existing programmes and take gender and technical aspects into account when mobilising the diaspora.

Last update: November 2022