The EU MoldAlign project supports the Republic of Moldova in its approximation to the EU single market. Its Component 2, implemented by Expertise France, supports the reform of State-owned enterprises and the management of State assets, as technical support to the MEDD and the APP. Its fourth output covers debt, insolvency and the liquidation of public entities.

The triage of the State portfolio carried out in 2023, on the basis of Government Decision No. 819/2023, classified 238 public entities into five categories. Category 5 groups 98 entities intended for liquidation. Many are inactive, with no activity or staff and sometimes no assets; others still have debts, assets or pending litigation. Depending on their situation, their exit falls under a voluntary liquidation decided by the founder or under the insolvency procedure provided for by Law No. 149/2012.

The Reform Agenda of the EU-Moldova Growth Plan includes two steps linked to this assignment: step 66, which provides for at least ten liquidations and fifteen reorganisations of public entities by December 2026, carried out by the APP; and step 3, which provides for the revision of the insolvency framework, prepared by the Ministry of Justice, with reference to Directive (EU) 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring and insolvency, including the creation of an electronic insolvency register.

The experience of the liquidations launched in 2026 should make it possible to identify the steps that lengthen the procedures and to distinguish two routes: a simplified administrative route for entities with neither assets nor debts, and the ordinary route for the others. The Component 2 roadmap then provides for a new wave of ten liquidations of category 5 entities that are inactive or of low social sensitivity, in addition to those of step 66.

Liquidation decisions, the appointment of liquidators and the conduct of the procedures rest with the Moldovan authorities and the competent courts. The project provides them with technical support.

•     Lot A, lessons learnt and legal framework (December 2026 to March 2027). The APP has an analysis of the liquidations launched in 2026: steps, durations, bottlenecks, costs, typical cases. It also has a proposal for a simplified route for entities with neither assets nor debts. The Ministry of Justice and the MEDD have comments on the draft revision of the insolvency framework, in the light of Directive (EU) 2019/1023 and of the case of public entities.

•     Lot B, standard procedures and selection of liquidators (March to June 2027). The APP has a manual of standard procedures, for the simplified route and for the ordinary route, with its model documents. It also has a method for selecting and appointing liquidators, based on competence, independence and transparency.

•     Lot C, support to a new wave of ten liquidations (2027, optional tranche). The APP has a treatment plan for ten category 5 entities and support for the opening and follow-up of their procedures, with a review of the wave.

The assignment does not include acting as liquidator or insolvency administrator, representing the APP or an entity before the courts, or preparing the liquidation of operating companies that requires social support, which falls under separate expertise. The expert nevertheless flags such entities when identifying them.

The expert works on the consolidated versions published in the State Register of Legal Acts (legis.md), supplemented by the documents provided by the APP, the MEDD and the Ministry of Justice. The project provides working English translations of the main texts and documents in Romanian.

The list may be supplemented at the request of the APP, the MEDD, the Ministry of Justice or the Head of Component.

Lot A · Lessons learnt and legal framework (2.4.1, 2.4.3) · 23 days

•     Start-up, within five working days of notification: review of documents; interviews with the APP and, through the project, with the Ministry of Justice; list of the 2026 files to be examined and of the information to be gathered; work plan.

•     Lessons learnt from the 2026 liquidations, on all files or, if they are numerous, on a representative sample chosen with the APP. For each file: route followed (voluntary liquidation or insolvency), steps, durations, actors, costs, obstacles encountered (tax and social security debts, assets not regularised, archives, litigation, appointment of the liquidator). The analysis identifies typical cases and the main causes of delays.

•     Simplified route: proposal for a simplified administrative route for entities with neither assets nor debts, with the eligibility conditions, required documents, steps and the act on which it is based. It distinguishes what is possible under the current law from what requires an amendment to a text, specifying the level of the norm concerned.

•     Comments on the revision of the insolvency framework (step 3): within fifteen working days of the transmission of the draft text by the Ministry of Justice, a note commenting on its consistency with Directive (EU) 2019/1023, on the treatment of public entities and on the electronic insolvency register. The expert then follows up on a later version, within the same timeframe.

Lot B · Standard procedures and selection of liquidators (2.4.2) · 34 days

•     Manual of standard procedures for the simplified route and for the ordinary route: steps, deadlines, responsibilities, documents, control points. It includes model documents (liquidation decision, inventory, notice to creditors, closing balance sheet, deregistration request) and a pre-diagnostic sheet that directs each entity to the right route.

•     Method for selecting and appointing liquidators: competence and independence criteria, prevention of conflicts of interest, publicity, remuneration and performance monitoring, link with the regime of authorised administrators under Law No. 149/2012 and with the ethics charter that the project is preparing separately.

•     Validation workshop with the APP on the manual, then final versions incorporating its comments.

Lot C · Support to a new wave of ten liquidations (2.4.1) · 45 days · optional tranche

•     Treatment plan: selection of ten category 5 entities with the APP, based on the register of entities; pre-diagnostic of each and proposed route; timeline.

•     Support for the opening and follow-up of the procedures, applying the manual: preparation of documents, answers to questions from the APP and the liquidators, quarterly progress reviews.

•     Review of the wave and adjustments to the manual.

Expertise France confirms lot C in writing, in the light of the progress of lot B, of the register of entities and of the APP's agreement on the list of entities. If lot C is not confirmed by 30 June 2027, it is not carried out and gives rise to no payment.

Pace. The assignment is intermittent: about 8 to 18 days between notification and the end of January 2027, depending on the date on which the Ministry of Justice transmits the draft text, then on average six to eight days per month in 2027. The expert organises his or her time freely; no full-time presence is required.

Conditional deliverables. Deliverables A2 and A4 depend on the transmission of a draft text by the Ministry of Justice. If no draft is transmitted before 31 October 2027, they are neither carried out nor paid, after written notification by Expertise France.

Technical requirements. Deliverables are written in English, with a summary of two pages maximum, and delivered in editable Word format. The model documents in the manual are designed to be used as they are; their Romanian version is prepared by the project and reviewed by a Moldovan-law lawyer. Each finding refers to its source (file, text, interview).

Validation. The Head of Component 2 sends comments within five working days of the delivery of each deliverable. Transmission to the APP, the MEDD and the Ministry of Justice is made by the project.

•     The expert carries out the assignment independently. The Head of Component 2 provides technical guidance and validates the deliverables; there is no relationship of subordination.

•     The expert does not represent Expertise France or the APP, makes no commitment and signs no document on their behalf, and does not manage any team.

•     The expert works with the project team and with the Moldovan-law lawyers mobilised by the project, in particular the company-law lawyer supporting the mission of the French General Inspectorate of Finance, and takes into account the conclusions of that mission. The expert coordinates with the other support already provided to the APP.

•     Meetings with the Moldovan authorities are organised by the project and held in the presence of the Head of Component or a member of the project team. Case files are consulted at the APP's premises or according to the arrangements it sets.

•     Place of performance: Chișinău for the start-up, the review of case files and the lot B workshop; the rest of the work may be carried out remotely. Practical arrangements for any travel are specified at the contracting stage.

•     Communication: the expert makes no public statement on the assignment; all communication is the responsibility of the project.