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On Tuesday, June 21, 2022, the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM), the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” (IDIS Viitorul) and the Promo-LEX Public Association (Promo-LEX) constituted the “Coalition for Decentralization” by signing a Memorandum of Collaboration and establishing an action plan.

In a press conference, the representatives of the 3 organizations presented the initiative, explained why more decentralization and local autonomy is needed, as well as what actions the Coalition intends to take to achieve its goal.

The “Coalition for Decentralization” aims at building and activating a discussion platform that will ensure a more complex and multilateral approach to the public administration reform in order to accelerate and deepen the process of decentralization and consolidation of local autonomy.

Key objectives of the Coalition are:

1. Contributing to defining the objectives of decentralization and consolidation of local autonomy and their promotion by bringing together actors interested in this process;

2. Stimulating an inclusive and comprehensive dialogue, with the involvement of a wide circle of subjects, who will discuss, agree on and establish the main directions of public administration reform;

3. Informing society about the reform of local public administration (reform options, implementation stages, etc.).

In practice, the “Coalition for Decentralization” will coordinate and manage several platforms of support and dialogue between the central government and local authorities to set, by common agreement, a national agenda for the most important legislative changes and institutional adjustments in the field of local public administration.

The Coalition has set the following priorities for the next period:

1. Consolidation of decentralized governance in the Republic of Moldova, leading to the strengthening and expansion of subsidiarity, local autonomy and optimization of the functions and resources of local authorities;

2. Expansion of the base of local finances under conditions of transparency, effectiveness and legality of local authorities’ decisions in the state.

3. Active, responsible and qualified participation in all stages of recalibration of level I and II local powers, offering all their support and skill in identifying reform options, optimal scenarios, impact assessment and bringing together local and regional actors in order to implement these reforms.

The Coalition is a voluntary initiative of the 3 associations. The idea of creating the Coalition started from the need to identify and promote solutions commensurate with the obligations undertaken by the Republic of Moldova was part of the Congress of Local and Regional Powers of the Council of Europe, as well as the much more complex commitments that the status of a candidate country in the process of accession to the European Union brings along.