Thanks to the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic’s support, 182 Moldovan public officials took the opportunity to participate in learning and knowledge sharing initiatives.
From January 2020 to December 2021, Moldovan officials were engaged in activities as part of a project titled “Strengthening Line Ministries’ Capacities to Assess Fiscal Implications of Structural Reforms – a Case for Moldova“. This project was financially supported by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and implemented by the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) under the EU-funded action “Strengthening Line Ministries’ Capacities to Assess Fiscal Implications of Structural Reforms,” which is aimed at the Western Balkans and Turkey.
Learning Interest Areas
During the project implementation, 33 distinct activities were realized, including preparation of knowledge products and a needs assessment. They led to the Moldovans‘ improved capacity to integrate structural reforms in the national budget framework. Activities related to knowledge sharing and networking met with partial success despite COVID-19 related restrictions.
Activities that were implemented included:
- course on Fiscal Programming of Structural Reforms,
- course on Cost Accounting Techniques,
- course on Macroeconomic Modeling for Open Economies,
- workshop on Managing Financing and Costing of Pension System Reforms,
- workshop on Ways to Optimize Internal Control of EU,
- conference on Supporting Accounting and Auditing Developments and Synergies,
- and more.
Four case studies on project-related topics have been prepared as well. They include: Conducting Financial and Expenditure Analysis in the Public Sector, How to Institutionalize Spending Reviews, Investment Planning and Evaluation, and Role of Accounting in Costing Structural Reforms. The knowledge products were drafted by Slovak experts and were translated into the English and Romanian languages.
Altogether, 182 Moldovan officials participated in the learning and knowledge sharing activities of which, 108 worked for the Ministry of Finance, 26 worked for different line ministries, and 48 worked for other public institutions.
Slovak expert Lucia Kasiarova
How Was the Project Beneficial?
Nowadays, developing analytical skills proves essential for public officials who create and implement state policies in Moldova or bear responsibility for effective costing and budgeting of structural reforms. With a future EU membership vision, Moldova has long sought to strengthen public administration and to foster economic growth. The Moldovans have identified the ability to propose measures necessary for structural reforms implementation and their mirroring in state budget as one of crucial preconditions for future growth. The project learning initiatives goal was to strengthen capacities in assessing fiscal implications of structural reforms as well as to improve inter-ministerial communication related to budget preparation.