The twinning project to support the modernisation of public finance management in Morocco is part of an extensive reform of public governance in Morocco implemented for almost ten years. It is based on the principles set out in the Moroccan Constitution, which aim to guarantee the rights of citizens and place them at the centre of the concerns of public administrations.
The operationalisation of these principles, in terms of budgetary and accounting reforms, involved the adoption and implementation of a new Organic Law on the Finance Law (LOF). This law is often considered as the country’s “Financial Constitution”, as it governs all the financial management of the State (budget programming/formulation, execution and control) and determines the respective responsibilities of the executive, legislative and judicial powers (Court of Auditors) in this field.
This twinning project, which is in the form of cooperation between the General Treasury of the Kingdom (TGR) and French Public Finances Directorate General (DGFiP), aims to assist the General Treasury of the Kingdom with the phasing in of reforms of public finance management and the dematerialisation of procedures related to all its activities.
Three areas of operation
To contribute to the overall objective of improving public governance, the programme is based on three areas:
• Improve budget performance, transparency and democracy, by supporting the budget system reform (Area I) via the implementation of a new Organic Law on the Finance Law (LOF);
• Improve the quality of public services and promote citizen participation and control, by supporting certain public management reforms outside the financial sector which may have a short-term impact on the quality of public services experienced by citizens (Area II);
• Increase the equity, performance and transparency of the tax system, by supporting the policy and tax administration reform (Area III).
This twinning project is financed by the European Union and is part of the cooperation between Morocco and the European Union. The public expertise mobilised comes from the Public Finances General Directorate (DGFiP) of the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and the Recovery, which has entrusted Expertise France with the administrative and financial management of the twinning project.
 Twinning, an instrument for rapprochement
Institutional twinning is a long-term administrative cooperation instrument. It was launched by the European Commission in 1998 as a specific pre-accession tool: the objective was to help candidate countries for accession to the European Union strengthen their administrative capacities in order to be able to apply community legislation as future Member States. Twinning has gradually been extended to also become an instrument to provide support in the first years following accession, as well as an instrument for rapprochement between the European Union and Southern and Eastern neighbourhood countries.
This cooperation between administrations involves regular exchanges between officials from the beneficiary administration and officials from a European Union Member State: expert missions, audits, training, seminars, study visits… These exchanges are facilitated by the permanent presence in the recipient country of a Resident Twinning Advisor (RTA) appointed by the European administration.
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