Moldova to host international conference on European convergence

International experts, policymakers and researchers will gather in Chisinau for an international conference, in order to discuss the interaction between fiscal sustainability and monetary stability for economies progressing toward deeper integration into the European Union.

The international conference dedicated to policy coordination for European convergence, titled, Fiscal space and monetary anchoring under accelerated integration, is organized by the National Bank of Moldova (BNM) in partnership with the Banque de France and the National Bank of Romania.

Now at its second edition, the event will take place from October 1-2, in a hybrid format (with both in-person and online participation). It aims to explore the challenges facing candidate states as they accelerate their economic and financial integration into the EU, where the need to mobilize significant investments, while maintaining strict price stability and exchange rate predictability, requires close coordination between fiscal and monetary policy.

Launched by the BNM, the event promotes the exchange of experience among public policy experts and also serves as a forum for presenting and debating research papers previously submitted by participants.

“Accelerated European integration compresses the time available for convergence. Textbooks describe convergence as an orderly sequence of stages. In our case, we are doing in a few years what has taken others a decade. Economic convergence is achieved through retooled industries and through roads, networks and interconnections that serve them, and they require capital, at the same time and from the same sources. Investments of this magnitude can be financed only where price stability and economic predictability are confirmed in the medium and long term. This conference is the platform where international experience and best practices are discussed in the context of our region,” emphasizes BNM Deputy Governor Mihnea Constantinescu.

The event will include speeches and panel discussions focused on financial policies, presentations of research papers and will provide a platform for dialogue between mature and emerging markets, with a particular focus on the context of Eastern Europe.

In this regard, topics to be debated include: the monetary policy framework for the pre-accession transition, integration into the single market and structural convergence and the balance between reform conditionalities and the need for counter-cyclical fiscal policy in the face of external shocks.