FBA in Eastern Europe

Sweden’s strategy for reform cooperation with Eastern Europe 2021–2027 includes the countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova. Since 2024, there is a separate strategy for Sweden's reform cooperation with Ukraine.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia’s interference in these countries’ politics and violations of their territories have made peaceful development more difficult, and political and democratic development is unstable and varied. The extended Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is the latest in a series of violent conflicts to affect the region.

While international surveys rank the countries of Eastern Europe relatively high in terms of human development, there are still major social and economic inequalities between different parts of the population. LGBTQI people, ethnic minorities and internally displaced people are some of the most vulnerable groups.

Systematic corruption that permeates all levels of society is a widespread problem in most of these countries. A lack of transparency and accountability means that trust in the legal system and other public institutions is low, while access to public services such as healthcare and education is inadequate in many instances.

Closer relations with the EU provides positive impetus for democratic and human rights reforms in the region. In June 2022, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Member States to accept Ukraine and Moldova as candidate countries, which – alongside Georgia – applied for membership in the wake of Russia’s extended invasion of Ukraine.

Moldova – Support for Democratic Governance

Moldova has embarked on a comprehensive reform agenda with the goal of joining the EU. The country's strategy for public administration reform is closely linked to democratic principles and the rule of law. The strategy emphasizes the government's commitment to increasing transparency and accountability within its institutions. To achieve these goals, focus is also placed on the crucial role that public servants play in driving change. FBA provides support for the reform of public administration in Moldova through the educational initiative SPRINT.

SPRINT – Educational Initiative for Public Servants

In 2023, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), in collaboration with Moldova's public administration, developed an educational concept aimed at young mid-level public servants and managers from relevant departments. The aim is to deepen their knowledge of democratic governance and their capacity to contribute to the implementation of reforms.

FBA was later asked to develop and implement an educational program, SPRINT, based on this concept. A pilot training was organized in Sweden in October 2023 and a second session was conducted in May 2024.

Read more about SPRINT 2.0 here.