Opportunities and Challenges Regarding the Development of the Administrative Capacity from Romania. The European Integration and the Influence on the Elaboration Process of the Public Policies

Abstract

The present paper aims to capture the manner in which the public administration of Romania evolved during the post-communist transition period. Likewise, this approach intends to identify the challenges and the opportunities associated with the adaptation and increase of the Romanian administrative capacity in the context of the adhesion to the European Union.
 The aim of these changes was the shift from a controlled, political administration to a democratic one. As we will observe, the institutionalization of the formulation, implementation and evaluation systems of public policies in Romania is directly linked to the efforts of integration in the European Union and, implicitly, to the reform of the administrative system.
 The hypothesis that we support is the following – the development of the administrative capacity and the reform of the public system was stimulated from outside the central administration and under the pressure of the obligations arising from the status of a Member State of the European Union.
 Unfortunately, in Romania, despite the changes made at central levels, the reform of the administration has not brought an improvement in the planning or implementing of the policies.
 In terms of policy evaluation, things do not seem to be any better, the culture of evaluation, the satisfaction of the public interest or the improvement of the activity remaining the exception rather than the rule, despite the constant support provided by European-funded programs