The Council of Ministers today approved the draft law “On some amendments to the law on the organization and functioning of the state administration”. After 14 years of implementation, one of the fundamental acts that regulates the activity of the state administration is amended with the aim of modernizing the organization and increasing the accountability of public institutions, in order to approach the best European standards.
According to the State Ministry for Public Administration, in order to increase accountability and transparency, the draft law establishes a unified performance monitoring system in the state administration, standardizing the planning and reporting processes from all subordinate institutions to the responsible ministries. For the first time, the performance reports of each institution will be published for citizens, aiming to strengthen transparency and enable a clearer assessment of the results achieved by the public administration.
The draft law reconceptualizes the organization of non-ministerial institutions, dividing them into two main categories: ‘dependent institutions and autonomous agencies.’ The changes aim to clarify responsibilities, strengthen oversight and increase the accountability of institutions to the responsible ministries and the center of government. Another important objective of the reform is to prevent the fragmentation of the administration into a large number of dependent institutions. In this context, the draft law limits the creation of institutions with a small number of employees, the functions of which can be absorbed or exercised more efficiently by the relevant ministries.
At the level of internal institutional management, the draft law strengthens the role of the general directorates, which will now be the highest decision-making instance for routine processes, except in cases where the law assigns the minister or the secretary general to take the decision, reducing the current centralization of decision-making. At the same time, this is expected to ease the burden of administrative processes that currently go through the Secretaries General, enabling them to focus more on strategic direction and institutional priorities, as well as increasing the accountability of each administrative link.
One of the key elements of the reform is the definition of criteria for the transfer of institutions under the Prime Minister, with the aim of avoiding overloading the center of government and ensuring its focus on intersectoral coordination and the government’s strategic priorities. The draft law provides that new structures be created only when necessary, with a time-limited mandate and linked to clearly defined objectives.
The most tangible impact of the reform on citizens is expected to come through the establishment of clear rules for the recruitment, career development and dismissal of employees of public services operating under the Labor Code, including hospitals, schools and social institutions. The aim is to guarantee the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and performance in the services that citizens receive every day.
Overall, the proposed changes, agreed upon with the European Commission and OECD/SIGMA, aim to build a modern, innovative and accountable administration, which is measured not only by its procedures and results, but also by the concrete impact it has on improving the lives of citizens.