Consultancy services for strengthening the capacities of national and local actors for EU accession and alignment

The Republic of Moldova is undergoing an accelerated and complex European Union accession process following the opening of accession negotiations with the EU in 2024. The accession process requires comprehensive alignment of Moldova's legal, institutional and policy framework with the EU acquis, as well as strengthened governance structures, institutional coordination mechanisms and implementation capacities at national and local level. In September 2025, Moldova successfully completed the screening process for all chapters of the EU acquis, enabling the transition to structured technical negotiations and implementation of opening benchmarks and subsequent requirements identified during the screening process. These developments generate increasing demand for specialised expertise, institutional capacity development and practical support for the implementation of EU-related reforms. Particular importance is attached to reforms related to rule of law, democratic governance, public administration, justice and internal security, especially under Cluster I "Fundamentals", including Chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and Chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security). At the same time, Moldova's EU accession process also requires stronger local governance capacities, improved multi-level coordination and increased participation of civil society, diaspora organisations and other stakeholders in EU-related reform processes. In this context, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements the projects "EU Integration Support Project" (EUISP), financed by the German Federal Foreign Office (FFO), and "Facilitating the EU Accession process through Coordination and Engagement in Moldova" (FACE), financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). To support the implementation of these projects, GIZ foresees the establishment of a comprehensive Short-Term Expert Pool (STEP), enabling flexible and demand-driven mobilisation of national and international expertise. The STEP will support activities related to legislative and policy approximation to the EU acquis, negotiation preparation and benchmark fulfilment, institutional and organisational capacity development, strategic planning and coordination, strengthening local governance capacities, facilitation of international cooperation and peer-to-peer exchange, as well as structured stakeholder engagement and support for local initiatives. The contractor implementing the STEP will provide technical advisory services, analytical support, capacity development measures, international exchange formats and implementation support in close cooperation with GIZ and Moldovan partner institutions. The overall objective is to strengthen the capacities of national and local actors to effectively coordinate, implement and support Moldova's EU accession and alignment process.