Transition needs a strong stable state

Date: 10/04/1997

Reform of public administration is at the heart of the transition process upon which the countries of central and eastern Europe embarked at the beginning of the Nineties.

These countries are evolving in three fundamental directions: towards democracy, a market economy and integration into the EU.

The road is fraught with pitfalls and the end can only be reached with the guidance of a strong state supported by an effective administration.

Evolution towards democracy is the most advanced. Everywhere there are new constitutions which embody the idea that political power proceeds from the people, and a multi-party system is in place.

Democratically driven changes of government have worked. But the distinction between the state, as a permanent entity, and the government of the day with its electoral platform has not been completely established.

If public authorities are not yet fully ready to enter into dialogue with civil society, neither is civil society ready to control the authorities in their exercise of public power. Lapses are still possible, but when they happen, people no longer put up with them. The situation can rapidly get out of hand, as we have seen in Serbia and Albania.

The shift towards a market economy is also moving forward, more or less rapidly depending on the country. It promises producers the possibility of using their initiative and it promises consumers the possibility of satisfying their needs.

But we are beginning to see that the market does not have all the answers. It must be structured and market failures must be corrected.

In addition, it challenges obsolete economic structures, initially forcing a drop in production and employment and deepening inequalities in society.

All the countries in the region have experienced difficult periods. They rely on an efficient state apparatus

to help them through. Where necessary decisions are put off for too long or are not properly handled, a breakdown can occur, as has happened recently in Bulgaria.

The urgent wish to join the EU gives structure and direction to the transition towards democracy and a market economy. Europe is seen as a haven of security and a guarantee of prosperity. Joining Europe is at the root of all political thinking and is supported by nearly all the major parties.

But Europe is a demanding goal and is still a long way off. To reach it requires the capacity to internalise and apply the acquis communautaire, a body of highly sophisticated rules and common policies which has been built up over many years.

The central and eastern Europeans have to transcribe them into legal systems which are still rudimentary, then they have to implement them. It is a huge task and much more difficult for today's applicants than for the previous entrants: the gap is larger and the acquis has grown much heavier.

In order to balance evolution in these three directions, there needs to be strong political will, clear guidelines, rigorous policy analysis, effective implementation and working control systems.

In a word, they need a state and an administration: not the old state, which aimed to govern all economic and social activity, but a new one able to lead change in a pluralist open society.

In the old system, collective government did not really exist. Policy was decided by the party's central committee. The task of ministers was to implement those policies through the management of the enterprises which came under their authority. Today, both ends of the old decision chain have already - or will soon - disappear. The central committee no longer exists and most of the state enterprises will be privatised.

The task now is to build up government of a different type: where the main policy directions can be discussed collectively; where ministers are policy-makers and regulators; and where prime ministers can make decisions in the event of policy conflict and can steer the development of the machinery of government.

All of this must take place in a party system where the widespread use of proportional representation makes governing through coalitions the norm.

Major change is needed. It is under way in most countries, but much more is needed before a new administrative and governmental culture is firmly in place.

It is not just a problem at the centre. Policies have to be implemented and rules enforced throughout the country every day, and in every case.

This raises a series of problems which are easier to list than to solve: how to collect taxes; ensure compliance with health, safety or environmental regulations; guarantee timely responses to enterprises in need of licences; inform citizens and enterprises of the reasons for decisions that concern them and create mechanisms through which they can seek redress; organise the services of the state and coordinate different levels of government within the framework of the rule of law.

Countries in the region answer these questions in different ways, depending on their possibilities, traditions and specific characteristics. But in all of them, citizens, enterprises and foreign investors must be able to count on a transparent and stable administrative environment and rely on efficient and ethically sound public administration.

This highlights a major element of the process of reforming public administration: reform of the public service. The new arrangements will only work if countries have a body of competent, experienced and motivated public servants. Of course, there are many who meet these criteria. But, all too often they are placed in particularly difficult and insecure situations.

Under the previous system, there were no specific rules governing the recruitment and employment of public servants. There was no tenure and they were not protected from politically motivated decisions. To a large extent, whatever the formal situation, this still holds.

To make matters worse, the difficult budget situation has led to public servants being underpaid compared with those in the private sector, resulting in low motivation, high turnover, a tendency to seek secondary remuneration and a vulnerability to the temptations of corruption.

In this context, there are some widely shared objectives across the region, including the adoption of specific legislation setting out the rights and duties of the public service, and the implementation of merit-based recruitment according to predefined quality criteria.

Hungary was the first country to move in this direction, in 1992. Others have followed. But the weight of tradition and the relative absence of material resources holds back progress.

There has been some movement on all fronts during the last few years. Most countries have designed public administration reform strategies and set up units to steer them with the help of EU member states, bilaterally and through international efforts. In particular, the Union's Phare programme has devoted a significant share of its resources to public administration.

Financed mainly by Phare, the Sigma programme - a joint initiative of Phare and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)- is a forum in which policy-makers from East and West can exchange experiences and reflect on reform of five key central management systems (public administration reform strategies, policy formulation, budgeting, personnel management and administrative oversight).

With the end of the Intergovernmental Conference approaching, the upcoming presentation of the Commission's avis (opinion) on the candidate countries and the start of negotiations on membership, a new stage has been reached in the process of integrating central and eastern Europe into the Union.

The outcome of the negotiations will depend to a large extent on the ability of the applicants to pass into law, implement and enforce the main elements of the acquis communautaire. Helping them will be one of Phare's priorities in the years to come.

But the Union cannot be too directive without changing its nature. It may present a menu of possibilities which may lead to needed improvements. It may show countries the different models of administrative organisation and processes found in its member states.

The principle of subsidiarity, however, ensures that neither the countries of central and eastern Europe nor the EU's current members are subject to European norms in this area.

The Union's responsibility is to define a goal: that these countries should have the capacity to fulfil the obligations of membership. The responsibility for doing so lies with them as part of their new-found sovereignty.

Jacques Fournier is conseiller d'Etat in France. He previously served as secretary-general of the French government and as head of the SNCF. He is now a senior consultant to the Sigma programme. This article represents his personal views and does not necessarily reflect the view of Sigma, the OECD, EU/Phare members or beneficiary countries.