Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, together with ministers from his cabinet at the Government meeting of April 6, 2026. April 2026 Modernization or centralization? The dilemmas of the local public administration reform Topics of the edition: 1 ­Alexei Buzu, Secretary General of the Government: Voluntary amalgamation – the direction we continue to rely on 2 ­Mădălin Necșuțu, TVR Moldova journalist: We modernize or risk drifting away from citizens 3 ­Olga Ursu, MAN MP: The National Alternative Movement primarily supports the concept of municipalization 4 ­Sergiu Palihovici, Director of the School of Public Administration at USM: The administrative­territorial reform does not take place in a political and social vacuum, but at a historic moment T he April issue of the FES/ APE Foreign Policy Bulletin is dedicated to the local public administration reform. The bulletin includes three intervi­ews covering both the political sphere and civil society, as well as an editorial by the TVR Moldova journalist Mădălin Necșuțu. The reform is considered inevita­ble by Olga Ursu(MAN MP), pu­blic administration expert Sergiu Palihovici, and the Secretary Ge­neral of the Government, Alexei Buzu, in the context of European integration and administrative fragmentation. However, Olga Ursu warns that, in the absence of genuine fis­cal decentralization and public participation, the reform risks becoming merely a political resizing. In turn, Sergiu Palihovici emphasizes the importance of legitimacy and social cohesion as essential elements for the success of the reform. Alexei Buzu argues that the solu­tion lies in the voluntary conso­lidation of communities, digita­lization, and the strengthening of administrative capacity, in order to improve public services and reduce inequalities between communities. The editorial by Mădălin Necșuțu highlights that the reform can contribute to the modernization of the state only if it maintains proximity to the citizens; otherwise, it risks being perceived as a change in form rather than substance. Foreign Policy Association together with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung offer you a newsletter on foreign policy and European integration issues of the Republic of Moldova. The newsletter is part of the“Foreign Policy Dialogue” joint Project. Monthly newsletter, No.4(242), April 2026 1