Moldova strengthens national security risk analysis and management capacities

The Republic of Moldova is strengthening its national capacities for integrated analysis and management of risks to national security by establishing a unified mechanism for identifying, analyzing, assessing, monitoring, reviewing, and reporting risks. This is stipulated in the National Risk Assessment Methodology for National Security, which was approved today by the Government.

The methodology aims to consolidate national capacities for integrated risk analysis and management by integrating all types of risks into a common, unified, coherent, and coordinated system of governance, planning, and action.

Its specific objectives include ensuring coherence and interoperability of risk management processes among all public authorities and institutions; integrating measures to reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience into national policies and strategies; developing response and recovery capacities through coordinated response mechanisms in the event that a risk materializes; and aligning the national framework with international standards.

Director of the National Crisis Management Center (NCMC) Serghei Diaconu said that through this project, the authorities are, for the first time, proposing a single national methodology for the identification, analysis, assessment, and prioritization of risks.

"Until now, each authority has assessed risks using its own methods, depending on its area of competence. This makes it difficult to compare risks, set priorities, and establish a shared national picture. The methodology brings order to this process by introducing common rules and tools for all authorities; it establishes a single risk assessment cycle, creates an extended list and a priority list of risks, establishes the national risk registry, and uses standardized forms and a single assessment matrix. Thus, all institutions will speak the same language when analyzing risks and will use the same assessment criteria. As a result, the Government will have an integrated picture of risks to national security, which will allow for prioritizing measures and directing investments toward the areas with the greatest impact on the population, the economy, and essential services," said NCMC Director Serghei Diaconu at the Government meeting.

The proposed solution consists in establishing a cyclical and continuous process of integrated risk analysis, which includes the identification and classification of risks, drawing up the extended and priority risk lists, preparing risk sheets, creating and updating the National Risk Registry, as well as periodically preparing the National Risk Assessment Report. Clear responsibilities are assigned to the National Crisis Management Center, the Secretariat of the National Security Council, national and local public authorities and institutions, economic operators, as well as civil society and the academic community.

According to the project’s explanatory note, the development of the Methodology was necessary because, at present, there is no unified, coherent, and integrated national framework for identifying, analyzing, and assessing risks to national security. This leads to fragmented and uncoordinated approaches and to difficulties in prioritizing prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery measures. In the absence of a single methodological framework, sectoral risk assessments are carried out using different approaches and tools, which limits the comparability of results, their integration into a shared national picture, and the grounding of strategic decision-making at the level of the Government and the National Security Council.

By establishing a unified methodological framework, the project will improve the quality of public policy decisions in the field of national security and crisis management, ensuring that these decisions are based on coherent, comparable, and interinstitutionally validated risk assessments, the project’s authors emphasize.

The implementation of the project does not involve setting up new structures or the immediate allocation of additional financial resources from the state budget. The activities provided for in the methodology are to be carried out within the approved staffing levels and resources of the authorities and institutions involved.