Expert-Grup

State of the Country Report 2023: “Moldova’s Economy in the Context of European Integration: Solutions to Boost Economic Development, Inclusion and Resilience”

Wednesday, 13 December 20234336 views
State of the Country Report 2023: “Moldova’s Economy in the Context of European Integration: Solutions to Boost Economic Development, Inclusion and Resilience”

Automatically translated summary. The full article is available in Romanian.

The Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup”, in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Moldova, launched the State of the Country Report 2023 on 12 December at the 11th International Annual Conference MACRO 2023. The report concludes that Moldova stands at a historic turning point after the European Commission recommended opening accession negotiations.

The authors say stronger public authorities, with higher salaries and good governance, and genuine involvement of civil society in decision-making are the top priorities. Otherwise, European integration will stay slow and marked by missed opportunities. GDP per capita (PPP) rose from 30% of the Central and Eastern European average in 2010 to 36% in 2022. GDP is forecast to grow by about 3.3% in 2023, driven by a roughly 30% rebound in agriculture, and by 2.6% in 2024.

The labour market is a key weakness: employment stands at about 42% (2022), against about 60% in the region, and the labour supply-demand gap may reach about 25%. Weak rule of law still undermines long-term growth, although Moldova climbed from 120th to 91st place in the Corruption Perceptions Index in 2022. The report calls for a new vision to make the economy more resilient, inclusive and connected to regional and global trends.

View the original article in Romanian