Moldovan government's secretary general in Brussels says local public administration reform key element of state's modernization process, essential condition for Moldova's European path

The reform of local public administration is a key element of the state’s modernization process and an essential condition for Moldova’s European integration. Secretary General of the Government Alexei Buzu conveyed a message to this effect at the third meeting of the Working Group for Moldova of the European Committee of the Regions, held in Brussels.

The event was dedicated to the role of local autonomy and the strengthening of public administration in the process of modernizing European states and the ones on the path to European integration. The participants in the meeting also discussed the progress in advancing Moldova’s European path and the role of local and regional authorities in combating disinformation.

In his speech, Alexei Buzu emphasized that the government’s goal was to build an efficient, professional public administration, focused on citizens’ needs. According to the official, the local public administration reform is not just a technical component of the governmental agenda, but a profound process of transforming the relationship between the state and the citizen.

The secretary general of the government presented the developments in the process of voluntary amalgamation of mayoralties. More than 700 decisions to initiate amalgamation have already been adopted by local authorities, which proves their openness and understanding of the advantages of strengthened administrative capacity.

At the same time, the participants in the event highlighted the priorities of the local public administration reform: strengthening the financial autonomy of local authorities, improving budget transfer mechanisms, digitizing public services through the development of Unified Service Delivery Centers (CUPS), increasing the capacities of local teams and maintaining an active dialogue between central administration, local authorities and citizens.

“There is no such thing as abstract European integration – there are functional services, rehabilitated roads, documents issued efficiently and problems solved at the local level,” said Alexei Buzu. He underlined that investments in local public administration were direct investments in the sustainable development and territorial cohesion of Moldova.

The European Committee of the Regions is the EU institution representing the local and regional authorities of the member states and the Working Group for Moldova serves as a platform for dialogue between European institutions and local authorities of Moldova.