Sweden to back Moldova's local public authorities in leveraging opportunities provided by European integration

Moldova’s local public authorities will benefit from the support of the Moldovan-Swedish PACE Local project: Local Public Administration, Citizen Engagement, launched today in Chisinau, in order to strengthen their capacities for active involvement in the process of European integration and effectively harness the opportunities provided by the association dialogue.

The project is implemented by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), representing the 290 municipalities and 21 regions in Sweden, with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). To bolster cooperation, SALAR has signed cooperation agreements with the State Chancellery and the Congress of Local Public Authorities of Moldova, strategic partners in implementing the PACE Local project: Local Public Administration, Citizen Engagement.

During the implementation period 2025–2029, the PACE Local project aims to contribute to inclusive local economic development, stimulate investments in rural communities, digitize public services, in order to bring them closer to the population in rural areas, and improve the quality of public services and local infrastructure in such areas as waste management, energy efficiency, access to drinking water and sanitation.

In the context, the project will leverage the expertise and experience of SALAR to support central authorities in strengthening the decentralization process and efficiently distributing competences between central and local public administrations, make small-scale investments intended to attract larger investments and help local authorities become more efficient, transparent and responsive to their communities' needs.

At the PACE Local project launch conference, Andrei Strah, Deputy Secretary General of the Government, said that he appreciated Sweden's contribution to strengthening local democracy in Moldova.

“The new project is aligned with the National Public Administration Reform Strategy, with the primary goal of improving services provided to citizens. All project components are extremely important, and Moldova is currently in a favorable position to promote the idea of European integration locally,” the official emphasized.

In a message to the participants in the event, Anders Henriksson, President of SALAR, noted that “Moldova has something special: strong communities and people who want to be heard. That is why, Sweden/SALAR is here to support local administrations and help citizens build their future together. Today, we launch the PACE Local project with a simple goal: to strengthen local administrations, encourage citizens’ participation, and develop more transparent communities.”

Viorel Furdui, Executive Director of the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM), emphasized that the new project came at a very important time for local public administration in Moldova, as the topic of European integration is of great interest to mayors, opening new perspectives for communities and providing new development opportunities.

Many mayors from villages and towns of Moldova attended the launch event, welcoming the Moldovan-Swedish initiative and highlighting their reliance on the experience of Swedish local authorities, part of the European Union, with an advanced degree of local democracy. The mayors emphasized their interest in actively participating in the process of Moldova's accession to the EU and in leveraging the opportunities it provides to local communities.