On 13 October 2022, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in partnership with the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM) organised a roundtable to strengthen dialogue-building and promote effective consultation in Moldova. The event was opened by Congress Director, Rafael Benitez, President of CALM, Tatiana Badan, and Deputy Secretary General of the Government, Svetlana Turcanu, and brought together representatives of local authorities, the government and the Parliament, as well as national and international experts.
CALM President and mayor of Selement, Cișmilia, Tatiana Badan, underlined the importance of institutionalised dialogue as a key to implementing the reforms committed to by the Government of the Republic of Moldova both in the Council of Europe and in the context of the EU accession. "Institutionalised dialogue between local and central powers will help us to advance. We are the partners of the central authorities; we have the necessary experience and expertise to offer viable solutions to the multiple challenges in public administration. This is why we want this mechanism to be institutionalised and not make-believe" she said.
Congress member Stewart Dickson (United Kingdom, ILDG) called for a grassroots approach to consultation which also involves citizens. "Local and regional authorities need to engage with the citizens, as the level closest to them, to ensure an effective consultation process’" he underlined.
The Congress encourages strengthening the political dialogue between local authorities and central government in Moldova as part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova (2021-2024). It is also highlighted in Congress Recommendation 436 (2019) and the Post-Monitoring Roadmap for Local and Regional Democracy, signed in April 2021.
The event was organised as part of the Congress cooperation project “Reinforcing the culture of dialogue and ethical open local governance in the Republic of Moldova”. This is a two-year project running from March 2022 to March 2024 which aims to strengthen the dialogue between local and central authorities and support the improvement of the quality of local governance through integrity, corruption prevention, open government, public ethics, and gender equality at local level.