PRESS RELEASE

An important stage of the civil service reform, developed with the contribution of Transparency International Romania, has been published in the Official Gazette

Bucharest, 7 August 2026

Transparency International Romania welcomes the publication of Law 165/2026 in the Official Gazette of Romania today, August 7, 2026, of the draft law amending and supplementing the Administrative Code.

The adopted law marks an important step in putting into practice the public policy and regulatory proposals developed under Milestone 418 of Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), with the direct involvement of Transparency International Romania. These proposals aimed to modernise human resources management in the public administration, support career development based on merit and competence, and strengthen integrity standards. The broader reform package developed under Milestone 418 included solutions for expanding civil servants' career opportunities based on merit-based criteria; mobility and rotation in sensitive positions; holding certain senior civil service positions on a fixed-term mandate basis; and bringing the integrity rules applicable to contractual staff more closely into line with those governing civil servants.

The main changes introduced by the adopted law concern:

• expanding career paths for non-managerial civil servants by introducing additional levels within the senior professional grade;
• linking promotion to professional performance, general competencies and the specific competencies required for the post;
• clarifying the role, duties and responsibilities of contractual staff working within public authorities and institutions;
• introducing explicit obligations regarding compliance with the rules on incompatibilities and conflicts of interest, maintaining confidentiality, the ban on accepting benefits, and the responsible use of public resources;
• setting out more clearly the administrative, disciplinary and civil responsibility of contractual staff;
• organising recruitment competitions, promotion and evaluation of specialised contractual staff on the basis of competence and professional performance;
• strengthening the responsibilities of the National Agency for Civil Servants in the field of developing public policy, regulating and monitoring the management of contractual staff.

The new provisions contribute to building a more professional public administration, where career progression is linked to competence and performance, and the exercise of official tasks is accompanied by clear obligations of integrity and accountability. The reform also creates the conditions for reducing the risks of politicisation, preventing conflicts of interest and improving the quality of public services.

The passing of the law shows that the expertise of civil society organisations can be used to develop public policies and regulations that have a direct impact on public administration. Transparency International Romania will continue to support the effective implementation of the principles of meritocracy, integrity, transparency and accountability in the public sector.

The publication of the law in the Official Gazette demonstrates that the expertise of civil society organizations can be leveraged in the development of public policies and regulations that directly impact the functioning of the administration. Transparency International Romania will continue to advocate for the effective implementation of the principles of meritocracy, integrity, transparency, and accountability in the public sector.

The public policy and regulatory proposals were developed for the National Agency for Civil Servants under Milestone 418 of the Romanian PNRR, Component C14 Good Governance, Reform 3: High-performance human resource management in the public sector, by a consortium of consultants that included the Romanian Association for Transparency | Transparency International Romania.