The Ministry of Finance hosted, in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union, a training session on ‘Communication’s Strategy for EU External Actions’. The aim of the training session was to familiarise the participants with the unique features of the budget support instrument; and to be guided - in their communications’ actions - by the EU’s new communication & visibility guidelines. The training session was attended by forty participants, representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European integration, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Ministry of Education and Research, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, and Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
In her opening speech, Minister Veronica Sirețeanu welcomed the training initiative and stressed the importance of communicating about EU external actions, and how the additional financial resources transferred to the national budget through the EU budget support instrument, contribute significantly to the quality and delivery of the governments’ policies and programmes.
To date, the EU has disbursed over 200 mil EUR in Moldova in the period from 2021 to 2023 through the following budget support programmes; “State and Resilience Building Contract for the Republic of Moldova”; “COVID-19 Resilience Contract”; and Support to Police Reform“. An additional top-up of 105 mil EUR to the State and Resilience Building Contract to provide continued support to the cost-of-living crisis is currently under negotiation.
In his intervention, the State Secretary Ion Gumene stressed how clear and regular communications, targeted at Moldovan citizens, about EU external actions (including EU budget support) helps to promote the principles of accountability and transparency; and serves as a counterbalance to the circulation of disinformation and half-truths. Furthermore, it also showcases the strong commitment of the Government of Moldova to potential EU membership in the future.
During the three-hour training session, the new EU Communication and Visibility Guidelines were introduced; and the EU budget support was explained using practical examples sourced from the EU publication “Budget Support: Trends & Results 2022”. With a view to increasing efforts in promoting the actions funded through the budget support instrument, participants were encouraged to share their experiences and challenges in communicating the budget support instrument as well as the government communication in general.
The session was led by the Brussels-based Communication Expert, Antonia Loncar, and moderated by Rachel Mac Gowan, expert from the EU Technical Assistance Project “Support to the Moldovan Government in Identifying and Preparing Projects Linked to the Implementation of the Association Agreement”. Mr Josip Juric, Programme Manager, was in attendance, representing the Delegation of the EU to the Republic of Moldova.
In the closing session, the Director of the External Assistance of Ministry of Finance, Iulia Ciumac, once again invited all the participants from the line ministries, dealing with budget support, to bring the new guidelines to action, by using the examples referred to during the session; and also, by sharing and exchanging amongst themselves from across line ministries.
