Closing ceremony of the Twinning project in Chisinau

The closing ceremony of the EU funded Twinning project „Support to the civil service modernization in the Republic of Moldova in line with EU best practices” was held on 14 March, with the participation of the Secretary General of the Government, Mrs Lilia Palii, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Mr Pirkka Tapiola and the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Moldova, Mr Rimantas Latakas.

Initiated on the basis of the partnership between the European Union, State Chancellery of the Republic of Moldova and Lithuanian Government Office, the Twinning project contributed to strengthening the capacities of the civil servants in the Republic of Moldova by developing and implementing the training programme and improving the quality of the professional development process. Also, the Project supported the capacity building of the State Secretaries and adjustment of the legal framework on civil service modernization by applying EU best practices.

Mrs Lilia Palii has emphasized during the event about the Project’s contribution to the reform process and a professional public administration responsive to citizens’ needs. “The Twinning project in Moldova started at a crucial time, with an essential added value on a number of components. I would like to thank for this successful project and express hope in establishing partnerships, including on other platforms, because the Republic of Moldova deserves to be a modern country, with an European-level public administration”, declared the Secretary General of the Government.

In his turn, Mr Pirkka Tapiola, expressed the EU commitment to further support the implementation of the public administration reform and support the reform agenda of the Moldovan Government. “The public administration reform is a long-term process that requires stability, consistence and strategic planning and a strengthened public administration can change the way a country works, for the benefit of its citizens”, said the Head of the EU Delegation.

Continuing the event a Member State project leader, Deputy Chancellor of the Government of the Republic ofLithuania Mr. Alminas Mačiulis on behalf of Lithuanian team thanked for the opportunity to work with a very dedicated group of people, which helped a lot to reach all the mandatory results. Also during the project implementation period the partnership between two countries was strengthened, which will help to ensure the sustainability of achieved results. “Lithuania will remain a friend and a reliable partner to the Republic of Moldova in the future”, stressed Mr. Alminas Mačiulis.

The total budget of this two-year EU-funded Twinning project was 1.3 million euros and it has generated important results, facilitating processes and mechanisms to implement the needed changes in the civil service. The partners of the project were the Office of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, Civil Service Department, Training Centre of the Ministry of Finance, and the European Social Fund Agency of Lithuania.

 As an initiative of the European Commission, the Twinning instrument was launched in 1998 to support candidate countries in their integration process to the EU. It ensures institutional cooperation bringing together public sector expertise from EU Member States and beneficiary country of the Programme.