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Description
The new governing coalition has come with ambitious promises of depoliticization in important sectors. But the consultations with society are urgent, so that the proposed measures are supported by citizens, before irreversible decisions are taken perpetuating past practices. There are four sectors where transparency through participation is needed:
(1) TVR and Public Radio, operating on an old law from 1994 that officialized political apppointments, and no longer fit for the new media environment, including the internet. The public interest and visibility of the sector are high and the civil society must be part of the consultation process to define a new framework in the very first months of the new coalition.
(2) The quality of regulation in crucial sectors of public service delivery to citizens, for example the energy market (see “invoices scandal” in Jan 2021). The serious consequences of the politicization of the regulator can now be seen. The management may be replaced following the public controversy, but not necessarily based on competence. A framework for depoliticization and professionalization would emerge from consultations with civil society.
(3) Similarly, "state" companies are a stumbling block for every new government. Defining the public mission for these entities which control enormous resources has failed so far; appointments led to controversy, suspicions of clientelism and incompetence. As in (2) above, it is urgent to set up an objective framework for the sector, through open consultation. EFOR will be part of the civic advocacy effort in this direction.
(4) The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is the platform wich may most of the reforms above. The version sent by our government to Brussels in 2020 has been criticized, among other things for lack of consultation with the civil society; the document needs to be re-written. EFOR will be part of this consultative process on all relevant dimensions, integrating inputs from 2 and 3.
Summary of project results
At the beginning of 2021, the new Government elected by the Romanian Parliament proposed four major themes of institutional reform: the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Anghel Saligny Program, the Energy Crisis and the Reform of State Companies. As the expectations from the civil society were very high, without the consultation of the general public and the organization of transparent processes, the topics would not have been supported by the citizens, nor understood by them.
Therefore, through the project, Expert Forum aimed to organize consultation with decision makers and citizens based on these essential topics in the development of Romania. There were published 4 public reports and 4 online debates in accordance with the four major themes proposed, reaching over 200,000 citizens, bringing at the same table the most important decision makers (representatives of Romanian Government - Minister of Investments and European Projects, Minister of Energy, Minister for Development, Public works and Administration, civil society organizations, reprezentatives of Romanian National Bank, journalist and citizens). The public debate with the Minister of European Funds on the subject of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan was a great success, with over 270 people live and 7,000 total views. EFOR also organised an awareness campaign, including an online petition, on the risks of adopting the investment government program Saligny, getting 800 signatures and an impact of 5,000 people. Expert Forum requested to the Romanian Government to organize 2 public debates and sahred them live.
As a results of the public pressure, some of EFOR''s proposals have been included in the OUG published by the government. EFOR published a public policy report (facts and figures) on the most important issues discussed (the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Anghel Saligny Program, the Energy Crisis and the Reform of State Companies); But, in the case of the Saligny program, 2 reports were published. In each report EFOR promoted the support provided by the funder, including the elements provided in the Communication Guide. The experience of the project has shown that the online environment can keep decision makers and citizens connected in a constructive way, as long as it provides real information on the impact of state decisions on the life of citizens.